Read the extract from the article “Indigenous leadership–Editors’ introduction” then watch the TedTalk video. Then respond to this reflection question, posting your thoughts in the discussion: How would these types of leadership approaches shift the current “Leadership” narrative found in our current business environments?

Article (excerpts)

Wolfgramm, R., Spiller, C., & Voyageur, C. (2016). Indigenous leadership–Editors’ introduction. Leadership, 12(3), 263-269.
Full article : https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715016646930 (payant)

Indigenous leadership is a multi-faceted and complex phenomenon that offers a rich arena for challenging existing leadership paradigms and advancing extant leadership theories.

With the aim to provide a scholarly space for these ideas to be discussed, this special issue of Leadership has focussed exclusively on Indigenous leadership. This task has been undertaken with five specific aims:

1. to chart new territory in the field of leadership by examining leadership from a uniquely Indigenous perspective;
2. to examine how Indigenous leadership is being theorized in the academic context;
3. to publish the results, findings and analyses of Indigenous leadership research that offers new and fresh insights into the broader leadership field; > > 4. to publish scholarly work that demonstrates how the experience of Indigenous leaders offers new ways of understanding leadership dynamics, and
4. illustrate how the study of Indigenous ontologies and practices of leadership contributes to existing academic leadership discourse.

The response to the open call for papers was overwhelming and highlights the interest in Indigenous leadership and its important role in building community and social cohesion. This is particularly true for Indigenous-communities. As Indigenous peoples, we trust our leaders to represent community and individual interests to the best of their ability. The unique scenarios and practices inherent in Indigenous communities form the basis of the articles featured in this volume.

In this special issue, we honour all who supported the aims we set for this edition. All articles submitted affirmed that Indigenous peoples are no longer simply research subjects. They are the actors and decision-makers. They are the researchers, professors, publishers and storytellers. As storytellers they have a responsibility to tell an accurate and honest account of their communities. As Indigenous citizens, they have a responsibility to their people. Unlike non-Indigenous scholars and researchers who write and publish about Indigenous communities, Indigenous scholars do not have an exit strategy. Indigenous scholars are members of their communities for life. This means they must always have the best interest of their communities in mind.

The guest editors of this volume are Indigenous scholars: Rachel Wolfgramm is Māori and Tongan, Chellie Spiller is Māori and Cora Voyageur is Dene. After a rigorous review process, we are delighted to present 6 articles from the 26 submissions received. As women play a vital role in recognizing leadership qualities in the youth and mentoring of community leaders, several articles in this special issue speak specifically to female endeavours and the important role they play in culture and tradition.

Indigenous education and the development of Indigenous community leaders by Greg Cajete

To distinguish this special issue, we lead the edition with an article from Tewa Scholar, Gregory Cajete. Drawing on over four decades of experience as an Indigenous scholar, educator and leader, Cajete argues that Western leadership theory and practice is predicated on a Western epistemology, a process of coming to know, that is significantly different from what occurs in an Indigenous relational world. He suggests that leadership taken out of lived Indigenous context, is little more than an academic exercise, and one that privileges and reinforces a western paradigm of theorizing leadership.

For example, when speaking with Indigenous leaders in the United States and Canada, he often asks them if they have ever read an article, book or taken a course on leadership. Most, with a few exceptions, say no. Why is this? Cajete argues that communal and culturally relevant forms of leadership are what matter most for Indigenous peoples and Indigenous leaders are developed out of a community context of affection, affiliation and education.

• Affection: Leaders who create and maintain group solidarity reflect affection for their followers. Followers, in turn, care for and respect their leaders. This affective relationship between leaders and followers combined with their adherence to a set of core cultural and community values help Indigenous communities to survive the impacts of colonization. Indigenous leadership is inextricably intertwined and sustained through mutual reciprocal relationships.
• Affiliation: Refers to the flow of inter-relationship, the highest value is placed on being inresonance with the dynamic balance of relations between human beings, nature, the cosmos, other life forms and the spirits of the past, present and future – based on epistemology or ways of coming to know. Knowledge is the result of active engagement of both the individual and the community with the natural order and life forces reflected in symbolism, metaphor, imagery, ritual, dance, song and art.
• Education: Community is the place where the forming of face (identity), heart (passion) and foundation (core values) of the individual as one of the people is most fully expressed. Community is the context in which the American Indian comes to know the nature of relationship, responsibility and participation in the lifeways of one’s people. Community 264 Leadership 12(3) is also the context in which the affective dimension of education unfolds. The community is the place where each person can become complete and express the fullness of life; it is that place that Indian people talk about.

Cajete also shares insights into Indigenous Stages of Development Learning with Leadership with a particular focus on transforming the self and transforming the collective.

[…]

Leadership pathways for the 21st century: Exploring the convergence of servant and Māori leadership by Diane Ruwhiu and Graham Elkin

This article charts new territory in the field of leadership by examining the convergence oftwo fields: Servant and Māori leadership. The overall aim is to place these two fields side-byside on the landscape of leadership scholarship to develop a richer understanding of the two ‘new’ perspectives of leadership theory and to enhance the contribution of these approaches from an Indigenous perspective.

Acknowledging the historical importance of service through leadership, the authors note it is a major theme in Judeo-Christian, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist philosophies. Servant leadership is viewed as a form of leadership that accentuates leadership as people-oriented, stressing personal integrity and service to others. Stewardship, empowerment, building community, trust, honesty, appreciation of others and an altruistic ethic of care are some of the qualities servant leaders embody and enact. This form of leadership is value-driven with a focus on developing people, building community, being authentic, being empathetic, healing, possessing emotional intelligence, empowering others and displaying ethical behaviour.

In examining how Indigenous leadership is being theorized, the authors also make a distinction between servant and Māori leadership. They suggest a unique system of leadership is derived from cultural criteria bound to the norms, protocols, traditions, kinship systems, economics, politics and social processes that are central to Māori society.

The authors also illustrate how the study of Indigenous ontologies and practices of leadership contribute to leadership studies. Maori leadership is viewed as embodying cultural values of Te Ao Māori or the Māori world suggesting that the Māori conceptions of life energies including whakapapa (genealogies), wairua (spirituality), mana (inherited and endowed authority), mauri (life force) and hau (reciprocity) influence leadership. However, they argue, like servant leadership, that these practices are people-oriented and constructed for the care of and well-being of people and their organizations. Maori values provide continuity in the transmission of cultural meaning and practices. These values include manaakitanga, which refers to the quality of caring, kindness, hospitality and showing respect for others. It reflects an expected standard of behaviour, an ideal that one should aspire to. Whanaungatanga, refers to the collective interdependence between and among humankind, reflecting social relationality between people. Other values mentioned include: wairuatanga; respecting a spiritual relationship to the gods and the cosmos and kaitiakitanga; acknowledging that humans are guardians of the environment, caring for and protecting the environment is important because we are intertwined.

In exploring the convergence of servant and Māori leadership, this article extends our thinking about leadership theory development, charts new territory in the field of leadership by examining how Indigenous leadership is being theorized and illustrates how the study of Indigenous ontologies and practices of leadership contribute to leadership studies.

Traditional midwifery or ‘wise women’ models of leadership: Learning from Indigenous cultures by Catherine Chamberlain, Doseena Fergie, Amanda Sinclair and Christine Asmar

In this article, we are taken deep into the experiences of traditional midwives. Throughout the ages, midwives in many communities have been selected according to the certain qualities they possess, and then trained in the traditional knowledge of midwifery. This knowledge is inter-generational, highly contextual and culturally specific as practices are developed and refined ‘sophisticated strategies that support and empower mothers through the critical life events of pregnancy, birth, and becoming a parent’. The authors highlight that traditional midwives have important leadership skills that, ‘employ mentoring models which are designed to foster wisdom, skills and emotional intelligence in the next generation to intuitively consider physical, psychological, cultural and spiritual dimensions; and to respond flexibly to emergent change’. These skills have value in modern contexts, that is beyond midwifery, to help all leaders address complexity and change. As in the experience of Lakota women, there is a heightened awareness that the broader discussion of leadership has largely ignored the contribution that women’s leadership can offer. Yet, the wise woman, who moves quietly, purposefully and skilfully through many communities, has much to offer us all in terms of deepening and humanizing our leadership.

The article identifies four principles of leadership from the midwifery domain and draws on Indigenous experience, literature and insight. These principles include: Empowerment, Servant and Tranformational Leadership; Wisdom, Mentoring and Enacted Vocation; Skilled Practice and Emotional Intelligence to Engender Trust and Dealing With Emergent Change.

1. Empowerment, Servant and Transformational Leadership. Caring is a foundational philosophy in midwifery leadership and requires an egalitarian stance that all people have wisdom. Recognizing the inherent wisdom of another person is a deeply generative form of leadership that empowers everyone.
2. Wisdom, Mentoring and Enacted Vocation. Whilst wisdom is making somewhat of a come-back into leadership theorizing, the authors point out that very little guidance is given on how ‘to preserve wisdom and pass it on’. Wisdom is more than possessing strategic and cognitive capabilities but must also encompass experiential and embodied learning, as well as, cultural and spiritual awareness.
3. Skilled Practice and Emotional Intelligence to Engender Trust. Engendering trust is a perennial leadership issue and no less in midwifery leadership. A ‘good midwife’ needs to be clinically and technically adept, as well as, someone whom others trust and feel safe with. The qualities of a midwife includes being able to ‘feel their job’ and ‘confident, competent, caring and empathetic’ and offer ‘skilled help from the heart’.
4. Dealing with Emergent Change. Midwives work in intensive and in critical spaces that require high levels of responsiveness and expertise, sometimes amid an emergency. They must possess, ‘a high degree of mindfulness’ and be able to respond in unfolding situations on moment-to-moment basis. Similarly, many leaders need to be adaptive and master the art of flexibility while keeping situations under responsible control.

Midwifery is an ancient profession, and its practitioners have held their leadership in communities in an ‘unassuming way which empowers others’. The leadership insights from midwifery offer a wellspring of wisdom that cultivates adeptness at dealing with physical, social, emotional, cultural and spiritual challenges. A riveting point the authors make draws on their earlier work. They say, ‘Indigenous cultures have often not had single, allpurpose ‘‘leaders’’ but complex cultural and other authority structures’ and that the notion of a singular authority figure in the form of a ‘Chief’ is a construct that emerged as colonizing societies sought, ‘a point of negotiation’. Giving voice to traditional, Indigenous midwives in this volume is an important step to restoring the place of honour to these, ‘custodians of ancestor wisdom and have special responsibilities to hand land and knowledge on to following generations’.

Video

You might be interested to read this article as well: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/indigstudies/chapter/indigenous-leadership/

How would these types of leadership approaches shift the current “Leadership” narrative found in our current business environments?