The true qualities of leadership

In many leadership books, the lessons have come from overseas studies and examples. From a New Zealand point of view it is easy to find concurring examples in our own industry. This has led to an interesting question. Where do we differ? The answer is simple - our culture.

Our culture is influenced by the large number of different races that make up our work force. New Zealand has an abundance of Polynesian employees who through their cultural beliefs and protocols, have offered another intangible but most powerful element. It is wairua or spirit. No longer only head and heart we need to capture and faster. But one step deeper - our spirit. Truly Maori Culture leads this belief that we must seek ways to engage our people's spirits at work which will magnify their performance. From this belief, we discover that all other races also have spirit and when awakened by others showing spiritual leadership, they too follow and join in.

Our culture is also well mixed with predominantly European influence and we are truly a bicultural country. Here too, the lessons of leadership when seen as a whole differ through the unique cultural mix we have in New Zealand.

"This is therefore a book about heart and spirit of leadership from a uniquely cultural perspective in business."

STEPHEN THOMAS, KAUMATUA

SENIOR MANAGER KIWIRAIL