Reflecting on the Year: Celebrating Success, Learning, and Growth

Reflecting on the Year: Celebrating Success, Learning, and Growth

As the year draws to a close, I invite you to take a moment with me to pause, breathe, and reflect on all you’ve experienced and achieved. This isn’t about ticking boxes or chasing perfection—it’s about honouring your unique journey. Each step you’ve taken, no matter how small, has brought you to this moment, and that deserves recognition.

Celebrating Success

Let’s start with the wins. Every achievement, big or small, is worth celebrating. Maybe it was smashing a personal goal, navigating a tricky situation, or simply showing up on tough days.

• What are your proudest moments from this year?

• When did you surprise yourself with what you could do?

• Who or what supported you along the way? How can you show your gratitude?

Take a moment to savour these successes. Whether it’s a quiet smile or a joyful cheer, celebrate the effort and resilience it took to get there.

Learning from Experiences

This year, like every year, probably came with its fair share of challenges. Those tough moments, though not always welcome, can be incredible teachers.

• What were the moments that pushed you outside your comfort zone?

• What did you learn about yourself or the world around you?

• How have those lessons helped you grow or shift your perspective?

Remember, every stumble and misstep is part of the journey. Be gentle with yourself as you reflect—it’s in these moments that we often find the most valuable growth.

Recognising Personal Growth

Now, let’s focus on how you’ve changed and evolved. Growth isn’t always obvious in the day-to-day, but when you look back, it’s amazing to see how far you’ve come.

• How are you different now than you were at the start of the year?

• What new skills, habits, or mindsets have you developed?

• What are you most proud of about yourself this year?

This is your chance to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. Growth is a sign of your adaptability, strength, and determination to keep moving forward.

Looking Ahead

As you reflect, you’re also setting the stage for the year to come. The lessons you’ve learned and the strengths you’ve discovered can guide you as you step into the future.

• What do you want to carry forward into next year?

• What can you let go of to create space for new opportunities?

• What dreams or goals are calling to you for the months ahead?

This isn’t about pressure or resolutions—it’s about planting seeds for the life you want to create. Trust that you already have everything you need to grow into the person you’re becoming.

Take a moment to appreciate all you’ve been through this year, the highs and the lows, the big wins and the quiet triumphs. You’ve done so well. Here’s to the year ahead—may it be full of hope, growth, and joy.

I will ‘see’ you in 2025!

Arohanui,
Mary-Anne

What’s your Legacy?

Have you ever stopped to think about the legacy you’ll leave behind? I mean really think about it—not just the targets hit or projects delivered, but the way people will remember you. As leaders, we get so caught up in the day-to-day grind that we rarely take a moment to zoom out and ask, What difference am I making?

James Kerr, in his brilliant book Legacy, shares lessons from the All Blacks. He writes, “Success is no longer about lifting trophies; it’s about your contribution, your story, and leaving the jersey in a better place.” For the All Blacks, the jersey represents something bigger than the individual—a legacy of stewardship and responsibility. While most of us don’t wear jerseys to work, we do hold the same responsibility for our teams, our organisations, and even our communities.

So, what will you leave behind?

Leadership: It’s Bigger Than You

If you’re anything like me, you probably didn’t think about your legacy when you first stepped into a leadership role. You were likely too focused on figuring out what to do, let alone how you’d be remembered! But the longer I’ve been in leadership, the more I’ve realised that it’s not about how much you achieve; it’s about how you serve.

Take Steven Adams, our Kiwi NBA star, for example. He’s not the flashiest player on the court, but he’s known for doing the hard, unglamorous work that makes his team better. In his own words: “It’s not about being the star; it’s about doing what needs to be done for the team to succeed.” Whether he’s setting screens, grabbing rebounds, or guiding younger players, Steven lives the idea that leadership is about lifting others. That’s the kind of legacy that matters.

What Legacy Are You Building?

Here’s the thing—your legacy isn’t something you create at the end of your career. It’s in the small, everyday choices you make right now. Are you the kind of leader who listens when someone’s struggling? Do you take time to develop others, even when your plate is full? Are you building systems and cultures that will thrive long after you’ve moved on?

Ruby Tui, one of my absolute favourites from the Black Ferns, talks about leadership in a way that really hits home for me. In her memoir Straight Up, she says, “True leadership is the opposite of individualism, the opposite of one person standing above the rest. It’s an encompassing, inclusive thing. I never liked the top-down way of leading.”

Ruby reminds us that leadership isn’t about being in charge—it’s about taking care of the people you lead. It’s about creating spaces where everyone feels valued and empowered to succeed. That’s what real legacy looks like.

Humility in Action: “Sweep the Sheds”

One of the most profound lessons from Kerr’s Legacy is the All Blacks’ tradition of “sweeping the sheds.” After every game, the senior players clean the locker room. They don’t do it because they have to—they do it because they want to. It’s a symbol of humility and service.

Think about it—how often do we, as leaders, roll up our sleeves and do the unglamorous work? When we do, we’re sending a clear message: no one is above the team, and success is built on small acts of commitment and care.

A Legacy of Contribution

I’ve been reflecting on what kind of legacy I want to leave as a leadership coach and trainer. For me, it’s about values like kindness, growth, and empowerment. I want people to say, “She made us better, not just in the work we did, but in how we felt about ourselves.”

What about you?

• What stories will people tell about you when you’re no longer in the room?

• What values are you embedding in your team?

• Are you empowering others to take the lead, or are you trying to do it all yourself?

Planting Trees You’ll Never See

One of the most beautiful lines in Legacy is this: “Be a good ancestor. Plant trees you’ll never see.” That’s what leadership is all about—sowing seeds of growth and resilience that will thrive long after you’ve moved on.

So, let’s make it practical. Here are three things you can do today to start shaping your legacy:

1. Reflect: Take 15 minutes to write down how you want to be remembered as a leader. Be brutally honest—are your actions aligning with that vision?

2. Empower: Find one person in your team who has potential. How can you help them grow? Maybe it’s a conversation, some coaching, or just giving them space to lead.

3. Simplify: Look for the “sheds” you can sweep in your leadership. What small, humble act can you do today to show your team you’re in this together?

So, What’s Your Legacy?

The truth is, we’re all leaving a legacy, whether we’re intentional about it or not. The question isn’t if—it’s what kind. So, what will your legacy be?

Let’s start building it, one small action at a time.

Go well this week
Mary-Anne

Space for 2025 is filling. Check out our 2025 programmes:

Empowered Leaders

Empowered Cultures

Empowered Students

Leadership Retreat

Next year there is no RAPLD funding.
Talk to us about applying for grant funding to support your mahi. 

Contact Mary-Anne to discuss your needs.

Strategic Planning - Eyes on the Horizon

Picture the swell, you can see it from where you are standing, the beach is quiet, waves building and challenge speaks to your soul.  Calling to you, enticing you to take your chances… willing you to take the wero laid down… this is the start point of a surfer’s journey… aligning also with that same journey of a school leader.  Why?  Not because of the thrill of the ride - a call from that which lays out beyond the breakers… the horizon.  That which lies beyond what we can see - the future, our future… our students.

The first step is getting your feet wet.  It’s time to jump in.  

The paddle… head up, eyes on the horizon… can be hazy but still they know where they are headed.  There are challenges… it takes time to paddle past the ‘chop’ of day to day.  Still getting out past the break is the goal, and so begins the paddle.  

Upon arrival there is the quiet… the space/the pause… stimulus/response… A quiet minute (whether authentic or created).  Take a breath.  The swell rises, the surfer maps their course.  They are aware of those around them, with them, also an awareness of obstacles that might get in the way.  The swell rises and it’s time to stand… take action and take the drop… Drop into challenge.  Navigate whatever accompanies the ride.  As a leader it is essential to stay above the breakers, take the time to pause, carefully consider the ride.  

What does this look like for school leaders?  As leaders we must keep our eyes on the horizon - our students… our future.  With clear focus on their needs, their growth, the potential of those in front of us, and those we lead, we set our vision. 

““Successful Wayfinding Leadership requires that we develop ‘response ability’ and avoid reactivity.””

— Elizabeth Kapu’uwailani Lindsey, Wayfinding leadership

So then time for ‘Momentum’ - vision needs action/movement to bring it into being.  The surfer makes the drop, rides the wave.  Riding the wave…an authentic need to be agile, staying true to the vision, turning, steering, facing challenges to stay on board, to reach our goals.  Controlling the swell, bracing for a spill, light, flexible, navigating the inevitable challenges of staying on… rising above challenge, standing strong.  

Once again we steer you back to the concept of disciplined freedom - being agile enough to cope with that which comes at you… unforeseen challenges, navigating change while still staying true to core focus areas and ultimately the destination - the vision for your students/kura.  Covid and illnesses are challenges, teaching shortages are a challenge, engaging authentically with all stakeholders can be a challenge.  As a leader it can be hard to navigate.  Especially considering the need to navigate on our feet, agile, light, ready to respond to change, essentially still focused on the horizon.  Good planning supports this whole process, and is a challenge that we are happy to lean into with school leaders.

All around Aotearoa school leaders and their teams are carefully considering what the best path is for their people. The time is now…we can not stay in a state of challenge  ‘just getting by’ - paddling through the foam.   We have to lean into the challenge and keep the course… growth and change… those we lead and our own.  Our tamariki and young people need us to step into our space.  We need to nurture them to grow too - so they can fulfill their destiny, ultimately they are our future.  

““The true gift of the wayfinder’s journey is not arrival at the destination; it is who we become along the way as we fulfill our potential.””

— Elizabeth Kapu’uwailani Lindsey, Wayfinding leadership

Climbing into the flax bush - starting your Mana Ōrite journey

"Mā te whakātu, ka mohio, mā te mohio ka marama, mā te marama ka matau, mā te matau ka ora." 

"With discussion comes knowledge, with knowledge comes light and understanding, with light and understanding comes wisdom, with wisdom comes wellness."

Have you had a chance to check out the Mana Ōrite webinar series yet? You can explore a  range of videos, podcasts and downloadable worksheets and resources to spark deeper korero and changes in practice at your kura. The more we talk, the more we can learn. The more we learn, the more we know. And the more knowledge we have, the more light comes in - and the more we will grow through knowing.

This quote from Mere Berryman, Dawn Lawrence and Robbie Lamont also points to the importance of dialogue:

“ “Dialogue within responsive pedagogy requires relationships in which risk taking is encouraged, where there is no shame in being a “not knower” and where it is understood that everyone brings with them knowledge, ways of knowing, and experiences of value to share.””

— Cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy: A bicultural mana ōrite perspective.

The key take-away from this quote is that there is no shame in not knowing - and that it is through korero that we can begin to know and acknowledge ways of knowing. 

This blog post is about feeling brave to start the korero, about feeling brave to ‘clear the undergrowth’ and about recognising that we all have to start somewhere - but we have to start somewhere together. 

Tungia te Ururua, kia tupu Whakaritorito te tupu O te harakeke
Clear the undergrowth so that the new shoots of the flax will grow.

But how can we clear the undergrowth? Where can we start? 

What about if we start by seeing the learner as the centre of the flax bush. As a rito and ngākau, ākonga are protected and surrounded by whānau, elders, teachers and others who can help - and we are not on our journey alone. We are part of the flax bush and we are growing together. We are all just one small part of the flax bush - but it is through working together that we can weave a brighter future for the rito. 

Let’s go to the bottom of the flax bush. Yes, at the bottom of the flax bush it is dark. And we might find some things that need to be cleared away - but we can also see the light of the growing rito. We can agree that the learner needs to be at the centre and we can work together to clear the path for more growth and ongoing korero. The more we talk to people, the more we can let the light in and we can grow stronger together with a rich mātauranga Māori foundation and a new shared understanding.   

Mana Ōrite is an opportunity to grow in a direction that is informed by indigenous knowledge. How can we start clearing the way? How can we start growing? 

We just need to start. 

Here are some pātai to start the discussion:

How are we inviting the ‘tanga whānau’ into our practice? (whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, kotahitanga and kaitiakitanga)

How can we start our learning design from a mātauranga māori seed?

How can we honour the learner and their whakapapa at/as the centre?

How can we learn and play together? (ira tākaro, ako)

How can we grow quietly and humbly beside each other with shared roles in learning? (whakaaro nui, whakamana, whakaiti)

The first step is working together. We may need to clear some things away before the new shoots will thrive. But we have to start. Together. 

"Mā te whakātu, ka mohio, mā te mohio ka marama, mā te marama ka matau, mā te matau ka ora."

References:

www.manaorite.ac.nz

Cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy: A bicultural mana ōrite perspective MERE BERRYMAN, DAWN LAWRENCE, AND ROBBIE LAMONT