A chief with no followers is just going for a walk

Collective Leadership for Impact, Oxford University  | 06 December 2022 – 09 December 2022  By Boyd Broughton, 2021 Atlantic Fellow  

E kore te tōtara e tū noa i te pārae engari me tū i roto i te wao-nui-a-Tāne. 
The Tōtara tree does not stand alone in the field, but stands with the great forest of Tāne. 

Our first night and shared kai, Photo credit Jemma Stringer 
With AFSE Fellows Michelle Steele and Angela Rutter who were also in attendence.

Recently I was honoured and privileged to attend the Atlantic Insitute’s ‘Collective Leadership for Impact’ thematic convening  at Oxford University. Gathering with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders from around the globe, our collaboration was informed by a range of historical and contemporary leadership perspectives. The struggles each of our ancestors endured, the many varied leadership positions experienced in our lands, our complex relationships with colonial empires throughout the Pacific, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa which span continents, generations and thousands of years were brought to the table for sharing, reflection and growth. It was amazing that the descendants of all of those histories and relationships were able to sit and share the same space to discuss and challenge; ideas, barriers and solutions.  

Prior to my arrival, I did not know what conversations to expect at a gathering for ‘collective leadership’. We have many examples of collective leadership within Māori culture, such as the Karanga; female calling and welcoming to large gatherings onto the Marae, Whaikōrero; speechmaking, Waiata; group singing, and the sharing of kai (food) being led by those with experience in catering to the masses.  These collective expressions are often restricted in application to the marae, tangihanga (funeral), or significant gatherings only. It provoked me to ask the question: do we resort to western models of leadership whenever outside of these contexts, or when funding and funders become involved? If so, why?  

The gathering started with an ‘Uncomfortable Walking Tour’ of Oxford, where we learnt about the foundation, entrenchment, then complicity of Oxford University and the Rhodes Trust in white supremacist thoughts and actions. White supremacy was then inflicted on the world via the young leaders Oxford produced who do not look Indigenous, do not sound Indigenous and do not love Indigenous. We then learnt about the unimagineable wealth accumulated from stolen labour, enslaved lives, and blood-resources from Indigenous peoples and lands worldwide, with no reparation nor acknowledgement from the institutions to the descendants of those plundered. We then progressed to a space articulating the (k)new knowledge, values, and principles of ‘collective leadership’ uninterruptedly practised for thousands of years. Leadership models which have been protected and passed down for generations, shipped from island to island in the Pacific Ocean, across the wonderous planes of Africa, whispered among the life-giving rainforests of Asia and along the sandy war torn shores of Europe. We concluded our week with some reflection and made commitments to the future, to ensure this week of learning was merely  the start of a never-ending pursuit of collective leadership implementation.  

During our hui (gathering), I was reminded that collective leadership has both privilege and barriers across the globe. In some spaces, such as Aotearoa, Māori and others can openly and strongly disagree with our Government kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face), online, and via the media, without threat. This is a privilege not extended to all Indigenous peoples. It was with pride and respect we acknowledged that existing models and practices of collective leadership for Indigenous peoples throughout the world existed pre-colonisation, and are continuously evaluated and are constantly evolving.

Meanwhile, we often find Indigenous models claimed by Dr.Flash-Suit-Clean-Shoes-scholar-guy, presented as new or recent phenomenon created by, discussed, and validated in stone halls like Oxford. Such occurrences, despite appropriate credit being given to their true origins, gave me some comfort that the coloniser has some recognition of collective leadership.

Regardless of the vast range of international and inter-generational experiences, it was agreed that collective leadership should be founded in love, humanity, and culture. and is a practice not a theory. Collective leadership can be demonstrated by reciprocity, trust, transparency, respect, inclusivity and mutual accountability, and it is best when designed locally while also being regionally, nationally, and internationally informed.

We discussed that to lead in a truly collective manner, leadership must be principled with a shared vision, where power is shared (both collective and individual) and all participants feel safe. Non-threatening and inclusive communication is key for collective leadership to thrive and diversity must be privileged and enabled through appropriate and adequate infrastructure. Resources, money, and the building of both capability and capacity must be sustainable in order for collective leadership to succeed. Importantly, leadership must always be a place of learning, with real, meaningful engagement  whilst allowing participation to remain optional.

I returned home with a bucket full of affirmation, some consolidated thinking and some lingering questions. I personally believe leadership, of all persuasions, including collective leadership, must be visionary, charismatic, and real. It must also be healing, inclusive, flexible, courageous, ebb and flow when required like our ancestral moana (seas and tides), and remain steadfast, forever present through both calm and storm. At the thematic convening at Oxford, there was not wide spread agreement on collective leadership.  However, I absolutely believe that in contrast to other western models of leadership, there is potential within an Indigenous Collective Leadership model to manage, isolate, or remove poor leadership, harmful ego, and hurtful narcissism  while maintaining the mana and dignity of all involved.  

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere 

Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te tohe mutunga kore 

Nōna te whawhai tonu mō ake, ake, ake! 

The bird who feeds on berries shall inherit the forest 

The bird who feeds on knowledge shall inherit the endless argument,  

And righteous struggle without end! 

This thematic convening was the start of a story and we are a community of obligated story-tellers, responsible to action models of collective leadership. We must continue demanding the devolution of power, authority, resources, and funding to Indigenous peoples. We must continue to exercise our right to refuse bad leadership - both internal and external, and to reject detrimental funding models and propose new improved frameworks for effective investment that do not deplete Indigenous peoples of our collective energy and rob us of our wellbeing and ethics. This convening confirmed for me, the obligation we have as Indigenous leaders to be more forthright in the reclamation of Indigenous political authority, made from our language, our customs, and our #LandBack, for the improvement of the both the lives of our communities, as well as the lives of our colonisers.