14 minute read
Te Pūoho Kātene
He rei ngā niho, he parāoa te kauwae
Photo: Virginia Woolf
Te Pūoho Kātene | Ngāti Tama
Former associate director and current Manaaki committee member Te Pūoho Kātene shares his thoughts on the characteristics of Māori leadership, by looking back on his own leadership journey.
The whakataukī He rei ngā niho, he parāoa te kauwae is to me an appropriate way to start an exploration of the unique traits of Māori leadership. A whale’s tooth requires a whale’s jaw. The implication being that to hold the mantle of leadership, one must embody the true qualities of a leader.
My own thoughts and perspectives on leadership have evolved over the course of my life. The rate of change has increased significantly in recent years as has my exposure to a broad range of leadership styles and approaches – some to which I connected and others not. What it has afforded me, however, is a chance to distil my own experiences and lessons, influences and cautionary tales into whakaaro that others are welcome to draw from or reject as they form their own views.
I was born and raised in Porirua at Takapūwāhia Marae. My whānau occupied the corner opposite the pā, aptly dubbed ‘Kātene Corner’. My greatgrandfather, George Kātene, came to Porirua as a child from Motueka; a descendent of the hekenga, and his own great-grandfather, Paremata, was one of the 254 tūpuna of the Nelson Tenths’ Agreement.
As tends to be the case, it was not till later in adulthood that I realised the abundance of leaders and role models who graced my childhood. I was raised at the feet of my grandfather, Pūoho Kātene, my kaumātua Patariki Rei, Ken Arthur, Mark Metekīngi, Harata Horomona and Kahuwaero Kātene, to name but a few. Along with my maternal grandparents, Tom and Eileen Parore, my childhood was a rich garden of influences that would shape me.
As my journey continued, I was fortunate to be influenced and mentored by remarkable coaches, managers, lecturers, iwi leaders, whānau and friends. More astounding than their acumen in their chosen fields was their generosity. Within our own Wakatū whānau, I have been mentored and guided selflessly by Paul Morgan, Hōne McGregor, Kerensa Johnston and Rachel Taulelei – each has played a major role in my development. Mei kore ake koutou hei tautoko mai.
The whakaaro that follow are some of my views, conjured over time and across influences. I give them in the hope that they cause a reaction. Not to accept unquestioningly. And that they may help shape the thoughts of our future leaders. It is my hope that it allows you to ask what these whakaaro mean to you and your authentic leadership style.
DISPELLING LEADERSHIP PRECONCEPTIONS
The prevailing view on leadership has been coloured, over many years, by a bombardment of influences, particularly from three sources: Western military, the Westminster government system and, increasingly, Western media. They have conjured certain tropes and archetypes of the quintessential leader, of which, I am sure, we are all familiar. The charismatic, hierarchical, alpha-type leader that has graced our news sources and our fictions. Erudite and polished and, in almost all portrayals, white and male. In popular culture, we have seen the ilk of Harvey Specter, Tony Stark and James Bond; realworld figures such as Churchill, John F. Kennedy and alarmingly, Donald Trump.
I admit, my perception of leadership had been influenced by these portrayals. The confidence, the charisma, the assertiveness – these were traits I initially convinced myself were necessary for leadership in modern contexts. And although aware of this alpha-leader archetype, I was equally aware that these were not traits I owned. I was quietly spoken rather than outgoing, considered rather than assertive, collaborative rather than directive. I looked at the prototype put in front of me and didn’t see myself reflected in it.
I believed that studying abroad, in Silicon Valley, would be a way for me to learn some of these traits and apply them to my own leadership persona. During my year at Stanford Graduate School of Business in California, I encountered these traits constantly – in my studies, with corporate leaders or people aspiring to leadership roles – but on a fundamental level, I felt no connection to this style. My search for leadership traits had been misplaced. Everything I needed in terms of exemplary leadership existed within my own whānau and my own whakapapa. There is nothing inherently wrong about the alpha-leadership style; the distinction is that it was the wrong style for me. More important than your skills and talents, speeches and strategies is that your leadership style be 100 per cent authentic to who you are. People can sense when a leader isn’t being authentic, and like the whakataukī E kore e piri te uku ki te rino, about clay not sticking to iron, an inauthentic leader is doomed to erode the trust of the people they lead.
Te Pūoho with wife Beth Tupara-Katene, daughter Kauria and son Māui at Puhi Kai Iti, the site of first contact between Māori and the crew of the Endeavour, designed by Beth's uncle Nick Tupara.
Photo: Virginia Woolf
LEGACY
My first lesson came in the form of legacy, that of sharing the name of Te Pūoho ki te Rangi, the Ngāti Tama chief who led his iwi on the hekenga southwards, firstly to Te Whanganui a Tara, then across to Te Tauihu. While I didn’t understand the gravitas of that migration until I was an adult, I was nevertheless very aware of the weight of expectation laden in that rangatira name. But it didn’t become truly apparent until my career positioned me to work with Te Tauihu iwi. Despite not having grown up connected to the rohe, the legacy of Te Pūoho preceded me everywhere, from Whakapuaka to Whakatū, from Onetāhua to Parapara. His legacy fused my journey to Te Tauihu; his ōhākī my path to follow.
Our legacy, born of our whakapapa, is our superpower. The relationship we have with it is, in my view, a defining characteristic of the Māori approach to leadership. In contrast to some hereditary-based authority systems, we do not consider ourselves entitled to the leadership; rather, we are entrusted with it. Stewards of it. Further, it is not ours alone; through whakapapa, our legacy is that of the collective. This sense of obligation, of being bestowed with the gifts of our ancestors, underpins a fundamental truth of Māori leadership: our leaders serve the aspirations of the collective, to protect and enhance the legacy for the generations to come.
TE PŪOHO KĀTENE
TO LEAD IS TO SERVE
In Frank Herbert’s science fiction epic Dune, Stilgar, a tribal leader of the indigenous Fremen people, asserts ‘What is important for a leader is that which makes him a leader. It is the needs of his people.’ This remark echoes commonly held sentiments within te ao Māori – that the mantle of leadership is conditionally granted by those the leader serves, and it is for them to determine whether that leader continues to be worthy of the mantle. Waiho, mā te iwi e whakamana. It is by people that authority of leadership is bestowed.
It is also by the people that authority be removed. The mandate is leased; rent is due every day to the people who bestowed the authority upon the leader, and it relies on a synergistic relationship between leaders and the groups they serve, built on a bedrock of trust and accountability.
Te Pūoho speaking at Taste Tomorrow, a Future Food Aotearoa event.
Photo: Future Food Aotearoa
BUILDING TRUST
In 2019, I was immensely privileged to be selected to join Obama Foundation Leaders: Asia Pacific. During our discussions on leadership, we were fortunate to have President Obama pull up a chair and share some of his thoughts, not as a president but as a community organiser. He said, ‘When you listen to the truths of people’s lives, people start to trust you.’ It was a valuable lesson.
Gaining trust from a leadership perspective requires both authenticity and a shared vision. Authenticity may be the simplest concept to understand but the hardest to execute. Whether they be employees, communities, hapū and iwi, or the general public, people have a keen sense of when a leader is being authentic or not. Again, I refer to those engrained archetypes, whose influence confuse the way we would authentically act with the way we believe ‘leaders’ should act. In aspiring to someone else’s leadership ideal, we deprioritise those qualities that reside in our own experiences, personality and whakapapa. The greatest fallacy may be that we think we must have all the answers. To me, there are few phrases as powerful as: ‘I don’t know but let me find out.’
TE PŪOHO KĀTENE
Humility, honesty and vulnerability: traits that reinforce how a group relates to a leader.
My whanaunga Rachel Taulelei once gave me some advice that leaders take their people to horizons they can’t yet see. To follow someone on a new journey, whether literally or figuratively, requires trust. Winning that trust is an arduous task, and keeping it, more so.
Waihīrere kapa haka performing at Te Matatini, 2019.
Left to right: Kawai Joe, Huia Pihema, Willie Te Aho, Te Pūoho Kātene.
SHARED VISION
A shared vision is one over which both the leader and the people feel a sense of ownership. Ancient philosopher and writer Lao Tzu, author of Tao Te Ching, The Way, wrote: ‘When the best leader’s work is done, the people say We did it ourselves.’ The leader is not the architect but the steward of the collective vision. A shared ownership also allows a leader to ask, and expect, a great deal from their people in the pursuit of the vision. By being coowners of their direction, all are equally answerable.
Every two years, for the last decade, I have been privileged to take part in Te Matatini, the national kapa haka competition, with the Tairāwhiti group Waihīrere. For my whānau, this means six months of round-trips from Wellington to Gisborne leading up to the event each February. It means 18-hour days practising in the Gisborne summer heat, countless hours of learning kupu, kōrero, choreography and actions, all to achieve a championship-calibre performance, collectively. The motivation required to make this commitment is founded upon the shared vision of winning Te Matatini. Each campaign begins with the group discussing this, learning what it will take to achieve it, and making their individual choice to be a part of it. As a kaihaka, I must identify what skills and value I can add and what work is ahead of me. I know what I must do to contribute to our shared vision; it is no longer the role of the leader to hold me to account, it is up to me. It isn’t only the role of our tutors to drive us towards our goal; each kaihaka can find an element of leadership where they can contribute, whether that is on the haka floor, within the creative group, in the wharekai, fundraising, or being handy with a broom – we all add to our collective success.
IN THE CASE OF WHAKAITI
Paramount among the self-erected barriers that keep us from reaching our leadership potential is whakaiti, or humility. I’m sure many of us have grown up with the ubiquitous whakataukī Kāore te kūmara e kōrero mō tōna ake reka. The kūmara speaks not of its own sweetness. It was certainly a core part of my upbringing.
Whakaiti plays a key role in our social fabric, ensuring we operate with respect and empathy, but I think that sometimes in our professional pathways, humility is often to a fault. Māori culture reinforces that it is by the grace and acknowledgement of others we gain recognition. Too often I see talented, accomplished wāhine and tāne Māori passed over for opportunities they richly deserve because they continue to apply this framework of whakaiti with others, such as in an organisation, or recruiters, decision-makers; those who do not ascribe to the same social accord generally followed in te ao Māori.
It has taken time for me to reconcile this issue. The conclusion I have come to is that whakaiti remains a key part of our cultural values, but in a leadership sense, it can be misinterpreted. Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life wrote ‘Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.’ Whakaiti does not require us to be overly self-effacing or avoid accolades and opportunities we have earned. Instead, it encourages us to consider our individual achievements in the context of the collective good. When we are driven to ensure the success of the collective, our individual achievements that contribute to this are not only encouraged but also demanded. For all of us to succeed, each of us must excel.
NO WAY AS WAY
A commonly held misunderstanding is that the journey to a leadership role follows a clear, prescribed route from point A to point B. This idea was something I noticed at Stanford, where the path to accelerated success seemed well-established: an undergraduate degree from a well-known university, four to five years’ experience at an investment bank such as Goldman Sachs or one of the big consultancies like McKinsey or Bain, high scores in the graduate management admission test, then gaining a place at a top MBA programme. Tick these boxes and your path to success, leadership and influence was all but assured.
I was aware that this was not my journey and at first I feared my own shortcomings, however, I realised that my divergent experiences allowed me to contribute my unique perspectives and thoughts. In that competitive learning environment, I initially mistook my differences as a weakness, not a strength. Such is it with leadership – there is strength in embracing our differences we bring to the role, and no one leadership pathway is better than another. Homogenising our leadership approach can undermine the diversity of thought needed to adapt to this fast-changing world.
In honing his own martial-art style, Bruce Lee coined the phrase using no way as way. No matter one’s aptitude within a system, the existence of a singular, prescribed system is, in itself, a limiting factor. We would hinder our leadership potential if we were encouraged to follow a single path, one regimented system. If you are an aspiring leader, you should not be concerned that your chosen field may limit your leadership options in the future. Rather, choose whatever path best allows you to use your skills and passion to serve your people.
As the world, and its issues and opportunities become more complex, there are still foundational elements that each of our leaders will need to have. The idea of service. Of protecting and enhancing our shared legacy. Of the privilege of mandate and the work required to keep it. For a millennium, these elements have defined Māori leaders as they faced their own situations and challenges. It is no different today.
I take comfort that, despite the uncertainty of new challenges, our approach to leadership was laid out generations before us. It is interwoven in our whakapapa and in the exploits of our tūpuna. And if we can mute the tumult of our overstimulated surroundings, there is calmness and assuredness in the power of whakapapa. A knowing that our right to lead is innate, and our time to lead will come when the people call. It is our responsibility to ensure that when that time arrives, we have become the leaders our people need.
