My experience of the Oceanian Anglican Talanoa/Korero/Talem-stori on the Moana Water of Life at Pacific Theological College, Suva, Fiji has made me realise that there are so many important things to discuss and do, especially regarding climate justice. Yet, for us as people whose bearings always begin with God and the Bible, we simply cannot go without them and believe that we have the energy and knowledge to do it by ourselves. This fact informs participants of the Water of Life Talanoa, we cannot just remain in the state of lamenting the past and present pressing issues; our faith has to be reflected in this talanoa. The focus on God is a primary virtue in the talanoa and the work that we have to do. God wills his purpose through our talanoa/korero/talem stori and through our action, as climate justice is a language that relates to the natural creation, which begins with God.

As our reflective talanoa and action go together, our Christian reflection needs to listen to other voices likewise. We need to cooperate with different stakeholders. We need to listen to them and simultaneously offer them our perspective on the possibilities that could make positive progress in the battle for climate justice. The voice and evidence of scientific research on climate change ask for our attention as science has evidence concerning changes that are crucial to our world. Those having lived experiences of the realities of climate change have been affected on numerous occasions. They need our attention and sincere cooperation. This asks for an act of cooperative courage that is unafraid to work with those who contribute immensely to the speed of climate change. If the battle for climate justice is to take root, then we need to take heed of the voices of everyone who is affected, as well as those whose activities contribute to hastening the pace of climate change.

Besides the vital call for cooperation between us and other stakeholders, an important aspect I learned at the talanoa is the ever-present reality of the unique Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Pasifika. If we are to consider a church that could relate well to the doctrine of the Trinity, it would be the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Pasifika. From the outset, the three-tikanga church structure may have been framed intentionally for the benefit of everyone. As such, against the backdrop of its structural strength, it could be used as the frame of reference for Christian unity, which can be an example of great things to happen when truly bonded together. On the other hand, the aspects that motivate division instead of unity between the united three-tikanga structure, need to be scrutinised and if prevalent discarded. Otherwise, the unique three-tikanga structure shows gifts for reciprocity being available for the mission on climate justice.

By analysis, challenges can be seen emerging across the horizon. The presence of the diversity of participants during the talanoa/korero/talem-stori already presents the first challenge of the geographical scope for those who are and will actively be taking the helm of leadership. Being negative about what we do not have rather than the good we already have at our disposal, is to place ourselves under defeat even before we begin taking the first step forward in action. Perhaps negativity and envy if left unchecked can also be unhelpful for the progress of the good that the talanoa/korero has exposed for our mission and ministry. Learning from each other’s strengths and weaknesses and the willingness to consult is a key to success if our talanoa/koreoro is to bear fruit for the good of all. As the body of Christ, the church needs gifted individuals with courageous humility and willingness to seek to learn and assimilate, to give and receive.

As an observer, I value this talanoa/korero for its message of the potential for greater unity but also the need to be cautious of division within this crucial mission for the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Pasifika. Thankfully, there are positive signs for future success. Still, there are also signs of subjects that could be deceptive and can bring down this concept of talanoa/korero if not carefully deciphered and simply ignored. As the Oaktree has produced new greenery during springtime, so do we need such renewal of our spirits to make all this happen as God may have wanted for the Church. Thus, I assume that as a three-tikanga Anglican Church, we need to bank on the positive similarities and promote them for one another.

The powerful symbol of the three-tikanga Anglican Church needs to not downgrade what it symbolises (unity in diversity) or employ comparison as an instrument for negative competition, but a positive one instead. For purposes of making that a reality, this talanoa/korero begins us on a good mode. Let us keep it that way, for we are all islanders and people of the moana. Let us continue the talanoa/korero/talem-stori as people of the liquid continent, who depended on it as a means of survival.
To God be the glory!

The post Reflections on the Moana Water of Life Talanoa, Part 1 appeared first on Kurahautū.

We need to talk about the elephant in the room (sacristy?). And by elephant, I mean the way we women in the church sometimes treat one another. I know about it. You know about it. But no one wants to talk about it.

Over the last several years we have become more comfortable raising the issues of patriarchy and structures and how misogyny has made it hard for women to flourish in the Church. We have said we need to work to change these structures and make the church a better place for all people on the margins. This is good and holy work, work enough to keep the church very busy. But those aren’t the only conversations we need to have and not the only work that needs to be done if we want to make real progress. It’s true that those barriers are real, they can be ugly and painful and downright stubborn to try to work around. But (there is vulnerability in admitting this), even if we somehow eliminated all of them, we would still find ourselves missing the good destination we hope to arrive at: women flourishing in their roles in our churches.

Though it is an uncomfortable statistic, when it comes to women being bullied in the workplace, a large proportion of it is done by other women. I have witnessed and experienced this to be true in my own life.

I have known women to snub, exclude, gossip, and spread some pretty nasty rumours. Instead of using their leadership position to help the women below them, they’ve used it to prey on those they’re intimidated by to keep them from advancing. I have been on the receiving end of some pretty denigrating (though oh so subtle) name calling, often accompanied by being gaslit and isolated. Then finally set up to fail by the significant increase of workload and pressure to complete projects. This from women I had hoped would empathize with me and understand the significant cognitive and caregiving load that most women carry.

In their defense, it has been hard work for most women to reach leadership positions. Some have sacrificed their work-life balance so they can prove that they are committed to their role and to the church. Some have experienced their own share of oppressive and unkind behavior from those in leadership over them. The obstacles have been huge, and the cost has been high. They are arguably victims of a system that requires a certain type of leader- white, male, authoritarian; in a patriarchal system often the biggest threat to a women who has ‘made it’ as a leader is another woman who might take her position. Instead of working with their sisters, they work against them, viewing them as their competition.

So yes, you could make a solid case for the argument that when a woman bullies or belittles another woman a system of patriarchy that demands toxic masculinity is still to blame – women are forced to embody a system that oppresses women in order to reach the top positions in our church. Maybe. Probably. But we are not passive in this process. So what are we going to do about it?

In her powerful 1979 commencement speech at Barnard College, an all-women’s university, author Toni Morrison said the following:

            I am alarmed by the violence that women do to one another: professional violence, competitive violence, emotional violence. I am alarmed by the willingness of women to enslave other women. I am alarmed by a growing absence of decency on the killing floor of professional women’s worlds. You are the women who will take your place in the world where you can decide who shall flourish and who shall wither; you will make distinctions between the deserving poor and the undeserving poor; where you can yourself determine which life is expendable and which is indispensable. Since you have the power to do it, you may also be persuaded that you have the right to do it. I am suggesting that we pay as much attention to our nurturing sensibilities as to our ambition. You are moving in the direction of freedom, and the function of freedom is to free somebody else.

It is worth doing the work to become women who empower and uplift other women because there is so much to be hopeful about, and so much transformation to usher in. Here is the beautiful truth: women in leadership bring flourishing to their workplaces. When there are women in leadership there is greater job satisfaction, more meaningful work, a decrease in burnout and better staff engagement and retention.

I have witnessed and experienced this to be true. I have seen women encourage, uplift, mentor, challenge and make sacrifices so that other women can excel. I have felt friendship instead of competition and found nurturing love instead of gossip and name calling. The fruit? So much joy! and a church that is journeying toward flourishing. The church needs women in leadership. Women leaders need other women to support them. So let us commit to tearing down barriers instead of erecting them. Let’s encourage one another and love as Christ loves us.

You are moving in the direction of freedom, and the function of freedom is to free somebody else.

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Did you enjoy this article?

Read Part 1 and Part 2

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The average professional spends close to one-third of their workweek reading and responding to emails. By keeping your messages concise and reducing back and forth threads you can reclaim some of this time and increase the likelihood that your messages will get a quick response.

Every day you likely receive some variety of the following emails: those you never read and either immediately delete or send to inbox purgatory, those you stop reading halfway through (or sooner), those you read but don’t follow through on because they are too wordy and complicated, and finally those special ones that you immediately reply to.

You want your emails to be the ones that people want to immediately reply to, so the first step is to make your message concise. A concise message is likely to bring you the best results for these three reasons:

1. People are more likely to actually read a clear and concise message.

All the necessary information can be absorbed efficiently.

2. People are more likely to respond to a concise message

A concise message gives the impression that the task you are requesting is also concise so not overly time-consuming, prompting a quick response.

3. Concise messages save the reader time.

Pretty self-explanatory.

Readers often interpret the length of a message as an indication of how difficult and time-consuming it will be to respond to.

The second step is to create an email protocol that will discipline you to identify the goal of your message and an efficient process (‘one and done’) for accomplishing the goal.

Even a short email can be a time suck if it takes multiple back and forth messages to reach the actual goal of the thread.

Example:

Kia ora _____

I would like to catch up with you this week about the project.

Here are three days and times that work for me. If any of these work for you let me know and we can meet at this zoom link:

If none of these work, reply with some days and times that work for you and I’ll choose one.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Nga Manaakitanga

Your goal is to optimize your email for readability and scanability and give the recipient a simple way to give you the answer you need in one response.

You can read more leader hacks here

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Feminist Leadership

There are countless courses on Women’s Leadership. Many of them focus on the need to foster diversity within organisations, most often through training in intersectionality.  Of course, as Anglicans, we accept the Gospel imperative to build spaces where equity is promoted and differences are embraced. And the research shows that this kind of environment benefits everyone. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, the more diverse an organization is, the higher their innovation and their financial performance.

The concept of Intersectionality is a fairly recent addition to feminism, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, it acknowledges that women cannot simply be defined by their gender, we carry with us multiple social identities: race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability. There is no one way to be a woman and there is not one way to define what a woman is. Intersectionality highlights the intersecting systems of oppression that individuals may face based on their multiple social identities.

According to feminist academia, advocacy, and policymaking, women leaders with a feminist worldview will work to include the myriad parts of a woman’s world that make her who she is. There is a widely held belief that feminists are the best at advocating for and practicing intersectionality in organizations.

If we see the work of feminism as dismantling those systems of oppression, discrimination, and inequality that perpetuate gender-based hierarchies and privilege, surely any type of women’s group or leadership training that claims feminism as its worldview must be beneficial for all women.

The problem is that, at its core, feminist leadership is a paradigm for the white, middle-class woman. It is presumed that the subject in mainstream feminism is a straight, white, middle-class, and non-disabled woman. Adding intersectionality to white feminism doesn’t change the leadership worldview, it just adds a little something extra to it. The Western white woman is the baseline and any other way of being a woman is viewed as “additional”. Kimberlé Crenshaw did not intend her concept to be used like a seasoning to make white feminism more palatable. She intended it to be used as a tool to understand oppression and the way our lives are impacted by what the world assumes of us because of where, how and to whom we have been born.

What does good leadership training look like?

In his book “Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation.” Miraslov Volf argues that effective leadership involves navigating the tension between exclusion and embrace. Exclusion refers to the tendency we have to define ourselves and the groups we belong to as though they are in opposition to other individuals and groups, often leading to conflict, division, and the marginalization of anyone we see as different. Embrace, though, is the capacity to recognize and engage with the Other in ways that bring understanding, reconciliation, and solidarity.

The goal of any leadership programme should not be merely to educate leaders on how to “include” all people, but rather to offer a transformational worldview based on love, peace and joy embodied in relationships that care for all people. This must be at the heart of any kind of radical revisioning of the present and of the future.

Read Part 1 of this series Here

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Nudge

Where’s the name from?

Nudge theory – the idea that every day we receive ‘nudges’ through things that we see and hear which change the way that we behave. Things like the weather forecast, an advertisement, a song or advice from a friend.

Why should you give it a listen?

The impact of using nudges to positively influence behaviour has proven to be so successful that large companies, the military, and even countries have formed units to build nudging strategies to accomplish their objectives.

Is it banter and filler or does it get right into the kaupapa?

Someone compared listening to the host to listening to “an emotionless BBC talk show, which is a vibe for some people.” I don’t think this is my vibe but I like the show and found the host to mostly be articulate and concise. I guess you can’t have everything.

Check this out

Ever heard of unethical amnesia? Have a read of this.

Which Bible character would have made this?

Solomon. He knew how to use his words to get what he wanted.

Does it make you wanna ka whawhai tonu?

Our brains are wired to be influenced by external factors. So, 1. I want to be more aware of what those influences are and, 2. I want to use those powers for good.

Bangin’ quote from the podcast

“Message framing affects us in all walks of life…framing has boosted coca cola sales, encouraged thousands to contribute to Wikipedia, fuelled Peloton’s growth. And was the reason Amazon paid their employees $5k to quit.”

Where can I listen?

You can listen to the podcast here

The post Podcast Review: Nudge appeared first on Kurahautū.

Feedback is crucial for building good relationships within an organisation. When feedback is frequently exchanged it increases engagement, productivity, effectiveness and satisfaction. So if feedback is so beneficial, what keeps some organisations from developing this practice? It may be that we underestimate how much others want to receive constructive feedback, the extent to which recipients will find the feedback helpful, and consequently whether or not they will be grateful for it.

This dilemma is demonstrated by a recent research study that found that less than 3 percent of people gave feedback when prompted,  compared to the 86 percent of people who indicated that they wanted to receive feedback. The reason so few gave feedback? They didn’t think that people truly wanted it. The study found that people consistently underestimated others’ desire for feedback. The more consequential the situation, the more people underestimated the desire for feedback.

How do you overcome this reluctance to give feedback?

Imagine how much you would want the feedback if you were the other person.

You want to know when you have something on your face or in your teeth, if you are mispronouncing or misspelling a word, if there is a flaw in your plan or if you are being offensive. Most people indicated that constructive feedback was almost always something that they would want to receive. Remembering this will help you realize how much others want to receive feedback and will make you more likely to actually give it.

Key takeaway: People want our feedback more than we realise.

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A Mātauranga grounded approach to women’s leadership might change our priorities and help our outcomes.

Many dedicated people have been working for years to advocate for women leaders in the Anglican Church, and because of their tireless work there’s a growing consensus that our statistics need to change. Our challenge now is to turn this awareness into the implementation of actions that will result in better outcomes. A Mātauranga grounded approach could provide a framework for flourishing whose results would speak for themselves.

It’s easy to get caught up in numerical goals: aiming to place the same number of women in leadership positions as men. This is a worthy aspiration, and one that changes in policy could certainly play a role in achieving. However, making this our primary goal might not have the intended effect.

A recent study found that when organisations increased the number of women on their boards it simply shifted the power ratio so that a smaller number of men were holding relatively greater power. Women were less empowered in these scenarios than they had been before.

If our focus remains solely on numbers, we risk neglecting the formation of Te Oranga Ake – flourishing for all.

Khylee Quince (Dean of AUT Law School) gave a powerful keynote address on mana wāhine and feminism. She posed some questions that could help the Church turn their focus to empowering, equipping and improving the outcomes for women leaders:

How can we, as part of a post-colonial or decolonization strategy, elevate the status of wāhine Māori?

How can we ensure their well-being aligns with the principles of Te Tiriti?

And crucially, how can we leverage their journey towards mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga, the self-determination of wāhine Māori?

It may be that we discover that when we grapple with these questions we get beyond goals of gender quotas and open ourselves to possibilities we have yet to imagine.

Perhaps our churches could become spaces where diverse familial structures and obligations are recognized, where colonial gender hierarchies are denounced, and where collective well-being takes precedence over individualism.

At the heart of mana wāhine lies a rich heritage and wisdom, offering hope for the future of women in leadership within our church communities.

The post A Series on Women in Leadership, Part 1: Mātauranga and Flourishing appeared first on Kurahautū.

Accidental AI

Where’s the name from?

The podcast is all about the technology of Artificial Intelligence. The accidental part comes from the name of the hosts’ first podcast Accidental Tech.

Why should you give it a listen?

AI is quickly shaping the future of technology, but where do you even begin to find out what’s out there? This podcast filters the information, let’s you know what’s out there, and offers you some fascinating tools to use.

Is it banter and filler or does it get right into the kaupapa?

Each episode is only 5-20 minutes long. It’s interesting and easy to listen to.

Check this out

HeyGen, a tool that creates an AI generated video of an avatar that clones your voice and can speak in multiple languages.

Which Bible character would have made this?

Moses. AI would have made writing the Pentateuch so much easier. Would have helped with those inaccuracies as well.

Does it make you wanna ka whawhai tonu?

Whether or not we are ready to engage with it, this technology is rapidly becoming intertwined with our daily life. Unless we want to bury our heads in the sand, we need to work out how to use these tools to promote flourishing for all people.

Bangin’ quote from the podcast

“We need to talk about the moral implications of this technology. Technically they won’t let you generate Donald Trump or Obama or Biden’s voice or Putin but inevitably it’s going to be a possibility…”

Where can I listen?

You can listen to the podcast here or here

The post Podcast Review: Accidental AI appeared first on Kurahautū.

Argument one: It’s an issue of social justice

The World Council of Churches maintains that…”In a world where information communication technologies drive access to core educational and work opportunities…working towards fair and equitable access to communication infrastructure must be seen as a part of the Christian call for social justice in an information-based society.”

In most leadership positions outside of the church, work is largely done through the sharing, creating, using, and transmitting of information through online tools, where a large portion of our communication occurs. This is especially true for younger generations.

Many of our Churches are on the offline side of the digital divide. We have largely neglected the work of equipping our leaders with the tools to minister with and through rapidly developing online technology. But we can change that.

Argument two: there’s a lot of fascinating stuff out there

There’s an AI-powered app that will let you talk to Jesus. You can also talk to Mary, the 12 Apostles, Moses, and dozens of other biblical characters (even Satan if you dare). The quickly developing intelligence of AI as modelled in its messages might surprise you. Give it a go. While the premise of this app might feel a bit strange to you I am sure you can imagine the potential.

Sora from OpenAI is a text to video generator that can create full videos of up to 1 minute long. The videos are pretty amazing. It’s still unavailable to the general public but there are lots of other ones you can access.

There are countless other tools, apps and platforms out there and there will be even more tomorrow.

Of course, they all need to be approached with wisdom and discernment using a leadership framework of Te Oranga Ake – flourishing for all people and creation – to safeguard our use of digital technology. I think we are up to the task.

The Reverend Blythe Cody

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Within days aid in various forms was coordinated and distributed to those who needed it most. The success of this group becomes even more evident in light of the scathing review of the Civil Defence’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle.

The review, authored by ex-police commissioner Mike Bush, criticised Civil Defence’s leadership, lack of preparation and lack of engagement with iwi Māori, hapu, marae or Māori organisations. Check out some of the responses to the review here and here

Bush’s review details opportunities missed and the high price that was paid for it. Getting disaster leadership right is an urgent issue as climate change increases the likelihood of severe weather events. Until we lead differently the outcome won’t change. Hāpaitia offers a model of mātauranga-grounded leadership that focuses on the flourishing of all people.

Hāpaitia met regularly – daily initially – to provide nimble and responsive leadership from the Church. Though the members of the group were diverse, bringing their unique skills, experience and viewpoints, a commitment was made to prioritise mātauranga-grounded leadership. It was decided unanimously to trust that on the ground iwi and hāpu were the hāhi and could respond most effectively.

“In a dynamic situation, we trusted that communities needed what they said they needed, and we responded as requested, rather than burdening them with paperwork and process.” Archbishop Don Tamihere.

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