Leadership Moves the Vaka. Governance is the Compass.
- Salā Marie Young
- Mar 27
- 3 min read
Reflections from a Governance Wānanga with Māori and Pacific Women Leaders
What happens when experienced women leaders pause their busy work to reflect not just on leadership, but on governance?
Recently, I had the privilege of facilitating a governance wānanga with a group of wahine toa leading across community, education and organisational spaces. What stood out was not just the experience in the room, but the honesty, trust and willingness to strengthen leadership through strengthening governance.
Because one thing became very clear:
Strong governance does not slow leadership down.
It makes leadership sustainable.
Governance begins with knowing who you serve
At PEP, we often start governance conversations in a different place than most. Not with compliance. Not with policy.
With people.
We began by reflecting on heritage, community and responsibility. This grounded our conversation in something governance is ultimately about:
Stewardship.
Good governance helps leaders protect:
• The people they serve
• The purpose they carry
• The relationships that sustain their work
When governance is understood this way, it stops feeling like administration and starts becoming leadership protection.
Why many good leaders still struggle with governance
A common theme in the discussion was the reality many Māori and Pacific leaders face: working inside systems that were not originally designed with their leadership approaches in mind.
Many leaders are strong relationally, culturally and strategically. Yet governance expectations often focus on technical structures, documentation and formal processes.
This creates pressure not because leaders lack capability, but because they are often bridging two different ways of leading.
This is where governance capability becomes empowering.
When leaders understand governance clearly, they can:
• Navigate complexity with confidence
• Strengthen organisational clarity
• Protect themselves from unnecessary risk
• Stay grounded in their leadership values
Governance becomes a support, not a burden.
From individual leadership to collective leadership
One of the most powerful moments in the session was watching the shift from individual leadership experiences to collective understanding.
Each leader brought their own challenges and insights. But through shared discussion, something changed. The conversation moved from my organisation to our shared leadership reality.
This is what good governance often enables.
It helps leaders move from carrying responsibility alone to understanding the systems that can support them.
Foundations we introduced
In a short session we touched on some core governance foundations that help leaders strengthen their organisations:
• Understanding the difference between governance and management
• Clarifying leadership and governance roles
• Strengthening accountability
• Building structures that support leadership wellbeing
• Using governance to protect relationships and organisational integrity
Importantly, this was not about turning leaders into governance technicians.
It was about building confidence.
Three questions every leader should consider
We closed with three simple reflection questions that often reveal where governance can strengthen leadership:
Who does your leadership look after?
What structure supports your leadership?
Where could stronger governance make your leadership easier?
These questions often unlock more clarity than any governance manual.
A simple way to understand the difference
After our conversation I reflected on a new way to sum up this simple distinction:
Leadership moves the vaka. Governance is the compass.
Leadership provides energy and movement.
Governance provides direction and protection.
Organisations need both to move forward safely.
Why this work matters
Many capable leaders are doing governance already — often informally and without recognising it as such. Strengthening governance understanding simply helps make that work more visible, more supported and more sustainable.
That is why governance capability matters. Not as theory, but as practical leadership infrastructure.
Final reflection
My sincere thanks to the wahine toa who brought their wisdom, experience and commitment to strengthening leadership for their communities.
Spaces like this remind us that governance is not about control.
It is about care.
Ngā mihi nui
Fa’afetai tele lava
Leadership moves the vaka. Governance is the compass.— Salā Marie Young
Strengthening governance. Supporting leadership. Building sustainable organisations.
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