Rangahau and Transformative Leadership

Abstract

In this paper, I will argue that for Māori - for whom time is cyclical - looking back and developing leadership models based on the leadership traits and achievements of our ancestors is imperative. Indeed, for Māori, ka mua, ka muri - we walk back into the future. However, how do we re-discover elements of our past through rangahau? McDonald (2017) argues that rangahau, informed by Māori knowledge and a Māori worldview, is a traditional Māori process of inquiry whereby new knowledge can be developed out of old knowledge. This process contains three stages: to search; to investigate; and to determine (McDonald, 2017). This paper will present a prophetic model of leadership based on the critical innovations of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki that emerge out of one of his nineteenth-century prophecies. This model was developed using the three-stage rangahau process outlined by McDonald (2017).