Corporate Teambuilding
indigenous philosophies for corporate environments
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Mana VS Ego: What To Do With Leaders Who Have a Big Fat Ego >>
Chances are if you’re a high performer it’s because you have confidence, but is that confidence just a big fat ego? People who lead with mana are selfless as opposed to those lead with an ego, who are self-centred and have a destructive arrogance.
Do Maori Woman Make Better Leaders? >>
".....if men were doing their job, woman wouldn't have to do it for them"
Ive heard people talking about how our Maori woman are hard, tough and often act like men, and I see this moreso in our smaller rural communities. Someone presented me with the idea that when communities lack strong male leadership, over time, woman compensate for that gap and develop masculine attributes, basically saying, that if the men were doing their job, woman wouldn’t have to do it for them.
Team Success: The Sure Way to Team Happiness >>
Wading through the oceans of articles, research and books on team success was giving me a headache.
The millions of models, the thousands of theories, the many, many, many blog entries titled '5 Ways to Teams Success' and '9 Ways to Team Success' etc, got me thinking, how can I make sense of all this information and data, just what are all these articles trying to say? How can I simplfy this for my clients? And this is what I have come to, what it boils down to is three key factors - Skills, Resources and Relational.
Maori Proverbs >>
Maori proverbs play a large part in Maori culture. Māori proverbs called ‘whakataukī’, ‘whakatauākī’ or ‘pepeha’ are sayings that reflect the thoughts and values of the past and carry alot of messages and meaning.
Māori proverbs comment on many aspects of Māori culture including history, religious life, conduct, ethics, land, warfare, love, marriage, and death. Most of the old proverbs can be adapted and applied to present-day situations. Here are some of the most popular ones used today.
Creating Strong Team Identities: The Indigenous Technique >>
Hikurangi is my mountain, Waiapu is my river, I am a descendant of Porourangi
Team identification is a 'flash' word for pride; to be proud of one's group. The indigenous Maori have a superior ability to create groups with strong identities. Workplace groups and corporate teams can learn some valuable lessons and insights from Maori on creating strong team identities.
Weaving Team Trust One Strand at a Time >>
The foundations of a team must be woven tightly together to create strength and security, each strand trusting the next.
The indigenous Maori have a rich and colourful weaving culture that creates beautiful artforms, baskets, clothing etc. When weaving, the most important phase is always the begining, the strands are loose and easily come away if the technique is wrong. As the initial foundations are laid down the piece is fragile and if incorrect, is likely to end up off balance and out of shape. Teams often work in this manner, relying on strong foundations to meet their objectives and accomplish its goals.
Conformity is the Enemy to Creativity in Teams >>
Getting the maximum creativity output from groups is not always as simple as it sounds.
In New Zealand there is a native bush plant called 'Kawakawa'. I'ts glossy heart shaped leaves have been serving the indigenous Maori for centuries as a healing plant. When picking leaves as a child, I would avoid the leaves hacked with holes, eaten by insects and instead choose the clean, shiny wholesome ones. As fas as I was concerned, the 'hole-y' leaves were ugly and there must be something wrong with them.
Paul Frank Industries Failed Attempt at Indigenous Branding >>
The Native American community has lashed out at Paul Frank for using mocking images as a branding concept for its latest fashion event, and rightly so. “Paul Frank offends every Native person on the planet with Fashion Night Out ‘Dream Catchin' Pow wow’” read the blog title of Native Approriations
The event was described by the Hollywood reporter as a “...a neon-Native American powwow theme. Glow-in-the-dark war-painted employees in feather headbands and bow and arrows invited guests to be photographed on a mini-runway holding prop tomahawks.”
The Haka - A Sporting Sensation >>
The haka is a global phenomenon and is having a major influence on the culture of sport. Some might dismiss the haka as a fanciful trend, but, its popularity has had steady growth since the 50’s and seems likely to only increase.
Tracking the rise in Google’s search engine statistics over the last decade, it is evident, just how 'haka hungry' the world is becoming. What is this fascination with the haka and why does it have such a strong link with sporting activities? Traditionally the haka was used before warriors went off to fight in battle, therefore, a lot of modern day parallels exist between the two. But does it work? Does it actually work? Does it really assist in creating better athletes and better teams? The answer is yes. The following 7 reasons explain why.
Teambuilding With Japanese >>
I've been working with different international culture for nearly 15 years now, and the Japanese have to be undoubtedly one of the best cultures to work with.
They have a great spirit and sense of humour, and can always laugh at themselves. They seem to be open to other cultures and their ideas. I guess this is why they have such a reputation and technology leaders, due to their flexibility in taking up new concepts.
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