The approval of Leadership qualifications by NZQA is a major milestone in Te Manu Arataki | Leadership Project, one of the most significant pieces of mahi we have had the honour of doing at Ringa Hora. 

It is the result of a collaboration that has included industry representatives, Māori and Pacific leaders, educators, workers, and kaimahi from all parts of Ringa Hora, with important input from other Workforce Development Councils. 

The engagement we had through in-person and online hui enabled us to get some valuable perspectives. Most importantly, we heard you talk about the important difference between leadership and management – how inspirational, forward-looking leadership can come from anywhere. This has been reflected in the revised qualifications which went before NZQA. 

However, the journey doesn’t end here. What is really important is for the knowledge we have gained during this project to be passed on to our future leaders via the qualifications that have been developed. 

In making this happen, the Service sector which Ringa Hora works for is set to play an incredibly valuable part. 

This is because the Service sector forms not only the largest workforce of the six sectors which WDCs are responsible for, it’s also one where most New Zealanders have direct experience. Two out of every three New Zealanders have worked in the Service sector at some point in their lives, be it a first job in a retail or restaurant setting, an after-hours job cleaning to help get through tertiary education, or a long-term career in aviation, finance, or business. 

Because so many people get an early job in services, they also get exposed to leadership opportunities in these industries at an early age. If you prove yourself in retail or hospitality jobs, it is not uncommon for you to be given leadership responsibility over your young colleagues, be it as a shift manager, cash supervisor, or team leader. 

Just as importantly, people in our industries learn Customer Service. The ability to influence and care for customers as well as for colleagues is essential for all leaders to succeed in the workplace. These skills are the foundation that high-quality leadership is built on. 

I was fortunate enough to very early in my career in the hospitality and tourism industries to lead, grow teams, develop people, solve problems, and to communicate and resolve issues. These set me on a path which led to the privileged position I now have of leading a fabulous team at Ringa Hora. 

This has also given me the opportunity to foster future leaders in this workplace. Leadership doesn’t just come from the top, but at all levels of a workplace. 

I have found that it starts with considering the individual. Not one style or approach to leadership works for everybody; it’s important to look at what makes the individual tick, and what their aspirations are. It’s a similar approach to that which has made our own Hinewai Quensell’s career pathways framework, Mata Ārahi Manomano, the basis of our We Be Who We See series, so inspirational. 

Ensuring that people know you have confidence in them to lead can also be vital in bringing out the leadership qualities our people and workplaces need. 

For me, one of the most important aspects of leading an organisation is to empower others so that even a chief executive is never indispensable. There should be several people ready to step up if a leader is unable to be there for some reason. If your organisation can’t run without you, you’ve probably done something fundamentally wrong. 

Developing leadership can feel like a difficult task in tougher economic times. But it’s impossible to grow businesses without investing in leadership. The hidden cost of not developing your organisation is something that isn’t always discussed enough. 

The qualifications that have been developed and refined as part of Te Manu Arataki give organisations something fit for the 2020s and beyond to train leaders. There is still work to be done with finalising some of the standards that will form the building blocks of the qualifications. But we have reached an exciting stage from which the country will draw great benefits.  

I look forward to seeing talented leaders emerge as a result of this fantastic work.