Leilani Burich

Representing the levels and forms of aroha that can be found throughout our lives across our many communities. We acknowledge the wide range of obstacles and the journey it takes to overcoming everything that stands in our way to expressing aroha within.

Ko wai koe? What are your strengths/weakness?

I am of Māori and Samoan descent. I was born here and moved to Samoa, where I did all my schooling, then returned to New Zealand and went to university in my early 20s. I’ve had good exposure to both, probably more of the Samoan culture to be honest and as I’ve been navigating adulthood and living in New Zealand, getting more exposure to my Māori side. This is the reason I’ve taken that on my journey with me – the beauty of both worlds and the culture of who we are.

I am a Tribal Lead for an Insurance Company, sitting at the executive table. I’ve got three kids at home, and I’ve recently become a solo mum, doing it on my own. I never thought I would end up in insurance. To be honest, when I stepped into it, I thought ohh no, this is too stale, too square for me. I think I like something a little bit more fast-paced but here I am ten years later, having moved my way through the organisation.

I think if I look back on my career, my strengths are probably in that people side. In everything I do, it’s the ability to connect and relate to others. And I’ve done that just by being myself. I’ve often found myself in situations when I thought, why did they choose me? That’s been a large part of my career journey. And I’ve had to figure that out for myself and go ohh it’s me, I love helping people reach their potential. I get a lot of fulfilment and every job I do is about seeing others go forward or take over my job or go be who they want to be. I get a lot of fulfilment out of that, more than the other stuff.

That to me is the stuff that has real deep purpose behind it. I think I’m still on a path of figuring out where I need to be and where I’m gonna land. A lot of my strengths are in the people’s side, building connections with others. I am authentic – people see me as being someone they can relate to. And then also I’ve built really good relationships along the way, so I’m able to cut through all the bureaucracy and the politics.

I’ve got the strong relationships with others, and I use those relationships to just get stuff done. And I do it in a respectful way, where it’s the way I would want to work with someone, and it’s helped me unblock a whole lot of conflict. There’s no secret to it. You’ve just got to really respect others and cut through and build those relationships. So yeah, I think my strengths for me are just those basics – treat people with respect and have fun while you do it. Be you and accept others for who they are too. 

I did the Bachelor of Computing Systems and then I had to get my foot in the door. And that’s essentially where I wanted to end up, in a technical role as a software engineer or a technical engineer. I started off MCC in the frontline service desks. And then I had my eye on those roles over in the technical space. But it was actually Danny. He got me into leadership. He was moving to Australia and said I think you should take over my role. And I was like ohh, no. So, I’ve had to learn to go and acknowledge my strengths because I can see the strengths in heaps of other people. It was just hard to see it in myself.

You’ll see a theme of ‘why me’ come through a lot. That’s because I’ve been on this whole journey of going, why me? What’s so great about me? Going into leadership was like, if somebody else believes I can do it, I should just give it a go, even though I don’t know what I’m doing here. I believed in others more than I believed in myself. That was the beginning of my journey, the path of leadership, and then I think I found myself.  

Sometimes leadership can become all-consuming, especially when you have a lot of empathy for others. You get heavily involved. So, I learnt earlier on in my career how to find that balance, because you can do all the care and everything and then you just become emotionally exhausted. And then I learnt to kind of pull back a bit. But I also needed breaks from leadership along the way.

So that’s something I did for myself. I think I had a pattern of being a leader for about three years and then shooting out into something different where I was just on my own. And then you go back into it, you find yourself back there. It’s the energy you get from it, and I always missed that energy from the people side. And so, I go back into it and remember oh this is what I loved about it. So, my career path has been in and out of leadership, to be honest.

Seeking guidance from our kaitiaki Hiwa-i-te-rangi, we take a journey through our different aspirations, goals and dreams. This tohu acknowledges hard work, wisdom, the reach of ones goals and the desire that comes from this mahi.

What were/are your career aspirations leading into your chosen career path?​

I’m moving into the space where I’m recognising that coming from two minority cultures and being in the corporate world – where we are very much a minority, particularly where I am – that there’s a deeper purpose somewhere there. And really it is to lead and inspire the Pacific Peoples and multi-cultural workforce. I feel like I’ll do that just by being in those positions, but also, I’m wanting to take more intentional action to support those in the workspace, to show that if I can do it, anybody can. I’m just your average Joe. I’m no one special.  

I didn’t come from a rich family. I’m just your average person, right? And like the majority of people in general, I work hard for what I’m doing. I’m not a specialist in anything. I think a lot of people think, particularly in insurance, you have to have deep knowledge to be respected. And that certainly is something I’ve had to overcome and push against. But for me I’m showing them look, you can just be yourself and have strong purpose around where you’re going and lead people and lead with intent and authenticity and it’ll take you places. But you’ve gotta back yourself. And that’s something I’ve had to learn. 

With adventure comes challenges as well as obstacles to overcome. We stand proud as we overcome these obstacles. This tohu draws inspiration from the Niho Taniwha and Aramoana patterns. We acknowledge reaching our destination and preparing ourselves for the many new adventures ahead.

How wīwī wāwā has your career adventure been?​

Technology has definitely always been a constant as an underlying thing streaming through, but I recognise that I don’t have to be the one that’s in the technology space doing the doing. I can impact change at a broader level, which is where I found my sweet spot. But it’s great to know the technology so people can’t pull the wool over your eyes. 

In a lot of organisations they’re trying to run the business and hold the line on costs, which means you’re always looking to find out where you can generate efficiencies. I found myself in roles where I’m interested in how can we do things better? How can we do things quicker, smarter, empowering others to do more. That it’s actually within their skill sets, so how do we automate that? My mind naturally goes there, to always think big and try something different.

I like creating environments for my team where they feel safe to explore that sort of stuff. I love technology, but with the lens around process and people and improving the way we do things. But also, I’m open to new things that might seem scary to others, like generative AI. Many people say it’s going to take our jobs but I’m like, if you’re using it to get rid of that mundane stuff and the repetitive stuff, imagine what space it’s gonna create to do more innovative things in your role, so you’ll be able to do all those other things you wanna do.

These patterns represent bravery and being strong in the face of adversity. We strive to be persistent and positively challenge anything that threatens to alter, restrict, and put a barrier in the way of our desired pathway.

What was your defining moment?  What words of wisdom or change in heart, changed your stars?​

I probably have this attitude of let’s try it. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work and we’ll move on. I’m not deeply attached to things and ways of working. I think that’s worked in my favour, even if it’s something I’ve built. If that didn’t work, let’s do something different, feel the fear and do it anyway.

There’s been many moments in my career where someone will tap me on the shoulder and go, I think you should go for this role and I’ll say, that’s not for me. But then I think, am I just gonna go with it, because what’s the worst that could happen? I’ll get told no, but I’m already telling myself no. So, I’m my own roadblock sometimes.

I think that has pushed me through my own self-limiting beliefs. It’s like, go with it and see where it flows. And I found that when I do that, it’s actually worked out for me. I’m someone who comes with a lot of self-limiting beliefs and I know that is felt by a lot of Pacific Peoples and Māori. I’m generalising here, it’s not everyone, but that comes from our cultural upbringing.

There’s a cultural thing for some, but for me it’s only speak when you’re spoken to, from my grandfather. Do not put your voice in the room because that’s disrespectful. And if you are younger then you don’t have a voice, right? And so that that belief translates into the corporate world and you don’t even realise it. It manifests like, ohh, I don’t know much, right?  

When actually, we’ve got a lot to say. We are very vocal people. We solve problems together culturally. That’s how we are defined. That’s how we do it, right? You look at a tangi, we all come together, and we solve this like a couple of aunties that are kind of leading the way. But then you just go with it. Sophie said to me when I first became a leader. “You can’t lead a cavalry if you think you look funny on the horse,” and I have never forgotten that because I always ask myself, do you think you look funny on the horse? Just keep going. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

And that can go into my career or even decisions that I’m making cause sometimes the right decisions are the scary ones. I sometimes have to check in with myself and ask, is this a limiting belief that is stopping me or do I move with it? I also found that sharing it has helped unlock things for others as well. And I think if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have progressed in my career. I would have just sat there being comfortable.

Here we are drawing inspiration from the Pūhoro pattern.  The pūhoro is used here to represent the strength, speed and agility needed to move forward and accomplish ones goals.

What future actions/recommendations do you have for those who want to be in a career like yours?​

I think it goes back to fully embrace who you are and be your authentic self in the workplace. I know that can sound cliche, but I truly live and breathe it – who I am at work is who I am outside of work. I think people appreciate that because there’s no facade. It’s like that goofy Leilani is the same goofy Leilani.

In fact, when people realise I’m in an executive manager role they say I don’t fit the mould. I use that as a fire in my belly to go yes, I don’t. And how beautiful is that? I don’t wanna fit the mould. I don’t want to because I’m representing the minority. But we’re all in danger of trying to fit the mould of what corporate needs us to be and how we need to speak. I can’t say it or articulate it as beautifully as that person over there, but we’ll just say it as it is because actually the perfect form of communication is the simplest. You don’t have to have all the flash words. I say just be yourself.

I do think it’s important to get a mentor wherever you are, so you’ll have mentors at different stages of your career. Use your voice, trust your voice, and even when you don’t, here’s the beauty of coming from our cultural backgrounds – we’re always gonna have diversity of thought. It’s a self-confidence thing, but you’re gonna have so many other modern Pacifica women and men who are brave and don’t have the same kind of limiting beliefs I do. I just represent a proportion of us.

And then there’s another proportion that are like, I fully back myself, and I look for inspiration from those people. Even though people might think I’m that person. Use your voice in the room. Do not underestimate your diversity of thought and your cultural background and how you can bring that in, because you know what these corporate organisations need to get up to play. Look at all the Treaty gift backs that are happening, getting that money back from government and the clever ones are putting that into education for their people, which means there’s gonna be a lot more people coming through and the workforce is gonna change.  

Culturally, we solve loads of problems. We do it, collectively. It’s like innate in us, solving problems together. We’ve got this issue. Or there’s a tangi, we need to come together and that’s how we operate. Whereas in the corporate world I think feel like it’s very like isolated. And this is the beauty of our people as we kind of come in and go, how do we do this together? It’s very collaborative.

And I think people need to really trust that and bring it forward. Why are we here? To be robots and the same as each other. And I’ve had to learn that, like if my view is different from the rest and it’s uncomfortable, that’s a good thing. It might be awkward for me, but we’re moving forward.

Success, best mentioned in the whakatauki “Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū!” Feel the fear and do it anyway!

What are some the failures/challenges in your life that have helped with your chosen career path? What are some memorable wins for your chosen path?

Obviously, my self-limiting beliefs, that’s my personal challenge I’ve had to overcome and I’m still overcoming because that’s deeply entrenched. And I know that there’s many others who feel same way, but they just mask it a little bit, right? And then I also had burnout last year, that was a huge challenge for me. Because I was in an environment that was clashing with my values. And so that was a huge challenge that I saw as a breakthrough for me. It wasn’t a breakdown. That was a breakthrough.

It sent me on this path of having more inner confidence. It’s improving my self-beliefs. It’s actually opening up the conversation for others to talk about burnout and mental health. I’ve always found that in my career when something happens in my personal life, like something blows up, I have this. I don’t know why this happens. A relationship of six years ended. I got the Gen-i NOC job where they had asked me to come in and run the first Trans-Tasman June, Gen-i NOC for New Zealand, It was like this big role that I was like, shoot, why me? But whenever something kind of blows up in my personal life, the work thing is something significant happens that makes me focus and get it done.

And it’s been a very recurring theme throughout my career and just happened with me after my recent separation of 14 years. I’m back in this tribe lead role that I was in when I had burnt out. I had to face it again. The other challenge for me has been work-life balance, how much you put into your job, what you’re getting out of it, and then also your home life and everything because we are whole people, we’re not just work.

Learning to say no to things that don’t need to be done by you. I think I found that a lot of my career I’d always go okay, okay. And I got to a point where I was just trying to do it all. And then, you get burned out. And then it’s like, I don’t need to seek validation by saying yes to everything. That doesn’t prove my worth. I can say no, and there’s a whole lot of empowerment in saying no sometimes because when you’re always saying yes to everything, you’re denying the next person the opportunity to step up.

I’ve met people who know what they’re gonna do. They know what their next role is. I don’t and I never have, and I always felt like that was something that was wrong with me. I didn’t know where I was going. I was just flitting around in the ocean like this little ball bobbing around waiting for someone to choose me. And I always felt like that was a real weakness of mine, but I’ve realised now that actually, I use my intuition and gut a lot more and no amount of paper writing is gonna do that for me.

I’m following my path and I’m trusting that things will open up in the right time and space. Now that’s probably not good advice for young rangatahi who are wanting to plan their career, but I’ve recognised that I don’t have to be like that. And there is beauty and excitement in that. So, I’m not knocking those who want to have a defined pathway, and I’ve always looked at those people with envy. But I feel like for me personally, if I didn’t tick the next box on my career pathway list, I would feel let down and then I would tell myself – see, you’re not good enough.

So, I am open to explore where I’m heading and now I’ve got to trust myself that if it’s not for me, I gotta exit. I’m still facing those challenges, and I think for me the next step is where do I take all my knowledge and all the experience I’ve built up over the years, and also the influence and impact on Māori and Pasifika communities. I think of my daughter too, because we are similar in some ways. She’s 11 and it could be an age thing, but a lot of her values are similar to mine. And when I think about we be who we see, I don’t necessarily want my daughter to follow the same path as me or become a leader. I want her to do what she wants to do. And to be the kind of person with that strength, that voice, that confidence.

And I think we need to not say here’s the box, stay in it. The most important thing is you’re bringing your full self to work. You’re using your voice. And even just in this conversation right now, I’m thinking oh, I’m not very inspiring, but that’s okay. But I talk a lot about the things that have helped me. Sometimes when I hear people talk about leadership it’s almost like they have never failed, and they’ve always had this innate confidence. And the boys have always known where they’re going and I can’t relate to that cause I’ve always had these self-limiting beliefs, but here I am.

I’ve gotten good roles, and I should be proud of that. But I’ve done it with these things that have set me back and I’ve had to overcome it. And that’s why I’m out here trying to sell the story of all. I’m this amazing person that’s ultra confident and I’m this and that, so people can go wow, she’s amazing, but I’m more like, ohh no, I come with all this baggage. Personally, I can relate more to that than someone who’s just got it all sorted. Otherwise, it can feel unattainable, and people think ohh, my starting point isn’t like that, I can’t do that, it’s too hard.