Leadership - what is it exactly?

Leadership is one of those things that keeps raising its head in my life. Apparently I'm a leader - something that I've never aspired to be. Interestingly tho I do want to change the world - or at least improve it - that's why I do what I do. So I guess that means I do need to lead. But what exactly does that mean?

I've had the privilege of watching Joe and Joanna Doherty of Ngaputahi in Te Urewera (see below!) leading their community through some significant changes in what seemed like a remarkably short time and they have taught me a lot.

Their leadership involves listening, learning about people around them, working hard on projects of benefit to the community, facilitating discussion about the future and the way forward, supporting and encouraging others in their endeavours where they can, passing on a wealth of knowledge and understanding where it is needed quietly and efficiently (but not where it is not!), and maintained their networks out from the community and where appropriate have shared their understanding of those networks so that others in the community can tap into them too.

It seems to me that leadership, in this context at least, is about supporting and fostering the skills and interests of others and creating some sense of common purpose to draw those skills together. It is also about sheer hard and sustained work, and locating all the necessary skills and capacities. It helps of course if those leading do actually have those skills and capacities, or that they know what they lack and are able to work with others that have them.

hei kona mai

Chrys