IMHO: Urutau: weaving te ao Māori into governance

OPINION: New ways of governing are emerging as Māori and others seek to weave the best from the ways of our tīpuna with the Four Pillars and other formal guidance to forge a robust approach to governance fit for NZ in the 21st century. 

My recent reading has included local fiction like Kohine by Colleen Maria Lenihan, Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka, Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey, How To Loiter In A Turf War by Coco Solid, and Kawai by Monty Soutar. I recommend them all, but I raise them here because they are examples of both innovative and sometimes challenging writing, and of how - 50 years after Witi Ihimaera’s ground-breaking Pounamu Pounamu was published - te ao Māori is now woven seamlessly into literature in Aotearoa.

This year the Institute has published articles I’ve written about the rise of advisory boards, about how it makes no sense to talk about ‘social licence’ in New Zealand without considering the Treaty, and the risks around skipping governance when a company is moving at pace. A theme is how governance is being adapted in the real world, and how, in Aotearoa New Zealand, this includes accounting for te ao Māori.

Waikato-based Director Maxine Graham is largely focused on Māori governance practice. She and I attended the Institute’s inaugural Advanced Director’s Course. She talked about re-indigenising Māori governance by drawing on the best of both worlds in her podcast: Board Matters episode: "Connections" with Maxine Graham. She emphasised relationships and a focus on wellbeing, and not just with people but also with the environment. She noted that Māori governance operates within a broader ecosystem with a focus on service and long-term impact – we may not enjoy the shade from a tree that we plant today, but our mokopuna will.

I mentioned how my friends Pita Noanoa and Vanessa Mill are growing their social enterprise in my article about governing at pace. They concluded that at this point in their trajectory, speed trumps the benefits a governance board will offer.  Their story is a perfect example of smart people looking to meld the best of both worlds for maximum impact whilst moving at pace.

The social enterprise they are growing is named Tū Mātau Ora. It’s all about using mātauranga Māori to improve hauora (holistic wellbeing) of individuals, communities, and our environments. Their immediate focus is to revitalise taonga tākaro (traditional Māori games) in our homes, schools, communities, minds and hearts as a fun, safe way to engage in te ao Māori.

They started their socially focused kaupapa around cultural capacity building in schools - sharing tākaro while promoting te reo, tikanga and other mātauranga Māori. Responding to demand from sports organisations, including Cricket Wellington, to help navigate their inclusion and diversity strategy; and exploring leadership development opportunities with businesses such as Gretchen Young Consulting using tākaro/mātauranga. They are conducting intergenerational research including kaumātua and their mokopuna from Ngāti Toa Rangatira. They are also customising unique programmes for elderly and dementia care units. Their most recent development is partnering with Te Puni Kōkiri to build a kaupapa around whānau resilience. 

Maxine talked about how excited she is about rangatahi developing leadership within an indigenously governed world, and Tū Mātau Ora is focused on that. Tākaro are for Māori, but also for everyone, and Tū Mātau Ora’s role is not just to spread the word and the practice, but also to uphold and enhance the mana and mauri of this taonga.

Ness and Pita are committed to building a sustainable enterprise, so what is their vision for governance? Their approach is less about different legal forms and more about weaving in a Māori perspective.

Firstly, they have embedded eight pou (pillars) in their constitution: Atuatanga (a form of environmental science), Mātauranga (promoting Māori knowledge), Kōtahitanga (creating a community around the games), Mana restoration and enhancement, Kaitiakitanga (protecting our taonga, environments, individuals and communities), Taurite (balance between Treaty partners), Urutau (adaptability around governance and how things are run), and Rangatiratanga through leadership promotion.

Secondly, the adaptability inherent in urutau - around strategic governance and management – is of particular interest. Maxine noted the importance of acknowledging the ecosystem within which a Māori (or every) entity operates, and urutau also encompasses individuals, communities, business, and the political sphere adapting to Māori ways of thinking and how they engage with each other and their environments.

Thirdly, what does urutau mean for the skills and experience required for directors and advisors? Pita and Ness will form a governance board when Tū Mātau Ora reaches a certain scale, and this is likely to include the competencies you’d usually expect to see on a board. In the meantime, they have an advisory board supporting a small group of people managing the business (services are delivered by that core group plus contractors by event). The advisory board includes experts in tikanga, diversity, and iwi engagement, but also in education and evaluation – it’s critical for them to be able to prove impact to access large-scale funding.             

Ness and Pita’s vision is that Tū Mātau Ora improves the wellbeing of Māori and others in Aotearoa. They are determined it is governed and managed in an exemplary way so it has maximum impact over generations. It’s fascinating to watch as they weave the best from te ao Māori and orthodox governance practice into something uniquely of our country.

I wrote about mātauranga Māori in Policy Quarterly published by Victoria University of Wellington Remember the Flicking Tail of the Lizard and again for the NZ Herald Māori business lesson: Remember the flicking tail of the lizard. 

About the author

Kevin Jenkins CMInstD is a founder of Martin Jenkins and has over 30 years’ experience as an advisor to business, not-for-profits and government. He works with boards and executives to help them clarify their strategic direction and make the best choices to achieve their purpose and goals.

The views expressed in this article do not reflect the position of the IoD unless explicitly stated.

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