The leader's paradox: who should we follow in a complex world?

Like the tip of an arrow, the term ‘leader’ implies the person out front, heading the charge and setting the course for others to follow.

But Dan Te Whenua Walker (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, Maniapoto, Tūhourangi) uses another metaphor: “Leadership is about weaving people together around a shared outcome. You’re not there to be the boss of people; you’re creating the conditions for them to contribute and lead.”

As a teenager, Dan left school feeling lost and disconnected. But after spending time with his nana ‘Chick’ on a Taranaki marae, he learnt about the extraordinary feats of his tūpuna and felt a renewed pride in being Māori.

“That experience shaped my purpose: to help people who, like me, may not yet see a future for themselves or feel connected to the present,” he says.

After several retail roles, including serving as Dick Smith’s youngest store manager, Dan was an executive at Microsoft. He has since founded Te Whare o Toitū AI, a kaupapa Māori AI firm, and holds several governance roles, including Child Cancer Foundation chair.

Along the way, he completed an MBA at the University of Auckland. He is now undertaking doctoral research into the economy of mana, a concept developed by the late Dr Mānuka Hēnare, drawing on the experience of building his own business.

Dan says humility, courage and integrity are central to his leadership style. “I see leadership as service: creating space for others to discover their own leadership journey. One of my strengths is lifting people up and helping them thrive.”

Setting a clear direction is important, he says, but so is knowing when to step back and let go. A top-down model, in which leaders are expected to have all the answers, isn’t a fit for our complex future.

“Rather than trying to have all the answers, leaders need to ask better questions and create the conditions for others to find solutions.” 

The leader’s paradox

We’re certainly facing a complex and uncertain future, influenced by the rise of fast-moving technologies like social media and AI; changing geopolitical orders and instability; and climate change.

Within this context, the biggest challenge leaders now face, says Professor Brigid Carroll, is dealing with paradox.

Brigid, who holds the University’s Fletcher Building Employee Educational Trust Chair in Leadership and is director of the Aotearoa Centre for Leadership and Governance, says today’s leaders are constantly required to balance approaches that are simply not compatible. A common example is needing to weigh short-term and long-term needs, but there are many others. An organisation needs to perform and hit its performance targets, for instance, but it also needs to be resilient and sustainable and not burn out its people.

“The strategy with paradox is essentially to not collapse the paradox; to not swing one way or the other, but to keep moving while keeping hold of these contradictions.”

Not collapsing the paradox requires leaders to find compromises and trade-offs, but to also acknowledge they will never be able to please everyone and reach complete consensus.

It’s a constant juggle, which is requiring leaders to manage change in a new way.
“We’re shifting from a ‘project’ view of change, which is discrete – it has a beginning and an end – to viewing change as perpetual and ongoing. It never goes away and it certainly doesn’t have a start or an end line.”

Facing complex challenges and on a treadmill of change, people tend to seek out ‘saviour leaders’, who offer simple, clear-cut ‘solutions’, says Brigid, but leaders who can actually manage complexity look very different. Like Dan, she notes a key characteristic is their ability to bring others into the tent to source solutions.

“They prize relationships, have empathy and compassion. They understand that change takes time and that as you build, you will need to redirect and reroute. People continually want the white knight who says, ‘I’ll save you from this’, but more complexity-oriented leaders say, ‘We need to save ourselves’ and create space for people to participate in that.”  

Don’t go it alone

Beatrice Faumuinā, CNZM OLY also believes successful leadership thrives in an ecosystem of support.

“Leadership is never in isolation,” says the recently appointed director of the University’s Kupe Leadership Scholarship programme.

The programme provides a transformational personal development opportunity for students who care deeply about New Zealand and want to create a brighter future. It includes one-on-one mentoring with respected leaders in a scholar’s respective field.

Kupe scholars “should never ever make those big decisions on their own or feel that they’re on their own. And if they do, they know they can pick up the phone and reconnect with us,” says Beatrice.

“The hope is that when they think about Kupe and their ongoing journey, we’ve built that confidence and deep relationships, not only for now, but also for the long-term.”

The Olympian and former diplomat has benefited from scholarships throughout her life, and says the programme aims to encourage “lifelong learners”, nurture career paths, and introduce scholars to an ecosystem that wants them to succeed.

Mentors have also played an important role for Beatrice, who says having someone like the late Les Mills, CNZM MBE to open doors and challenge her thinking helped her see possibilities that she could otherwise never have imagined.

“He was not just a coach in sport; look at what he did for business, what he did for community. There were so many different avenues of expertise that I could lean on, and listen to that wonderful voice of reason.”

Recognising that burnout is a major challenge for leaders, Beatrice says her sporting career taught her about the importance of rest and recovery.

“Your greatest learning will always be when you’re resting and recovering, when you’re taking time away to actually give back to yourself so you can recharge to therefore go again.”

Looking ahead, she says leaders will still need to be very ambitious, but sustainable leadership will be about being smarter and more collaborative.

“I think they will be more culturally intelligent and aware than possibly we were. And hopefully, with technology and people power, it will still be people at the end of the day who will benefit from this leadership model. That’s what I hope to see.” 

Create a long-term vision – and stick to it

Meg de Ronde was a curious, talkative and assertive child, used to having robust conversations in a politically aware family. In part, this gave her the confidence to step up into leadership roles when she was asked.

“I grew up in a family that was aware of dynamics in society and, as a result, was politically active, did care about injustice, inequality, things like that,” says Meg. “I have always been interested in doing work that helps make Aotearoa and people’s lives better.”

During her University of Auckland masters in political studies, and after her graduation, Meg was head tutor and a contract lecturer before becoming the first woman, and the youngest person, to lead Amnesty International in New Zealand.

In her current role as chief executive of the Human Rights Commission, she leads in a shared Tino Rangatiratanga-Kāwanatanga leadership model with a co-equal Māori CEO, to reflect the partnership between Māori and the Crown.

“I’m not tied to particular manifestations of what leadership should look like, or what power should look like. I think there’s strength in collaboration. I think there’s strength in high-trust relationships.”

Post-Covid, leaders need to recognise that “nothing is certain anymore”, says Meg, and adapt quickly to manage uncertainty without full sets of information.

New Zealand also urgently needs leaders who understand the failure of short-term thinking around public transport, ageing populations, education systems and health.

“These are complex issues, they’re complex structures, and they need people willing to outline a long-term vision and then stick to it.”

She’s proud of the commission’s ‘Honour the Promise’ public awareness campaign calling for the government to act on the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.

“I think it is beholden on all of us to keep pushing for that longer-term vision of New Zealand.” 

Grounded to be courageous

In his role as chief executive of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers, Nathan Chong-Nee says one of his biggest challenges is to hold another of those paradoxes – hope and honesty.

He also draws on his Māori and Pacific heritage to find solutions that give those affected a voice at the table.

“In Sāmoa we talk about le vā – the sacred relational space that exists between people. So, how can we create spaces where we are bringing forward voices and experiences to come up with solutions that resonate with the people who need the solutions.”

Having graduated from the University with a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences and a Master of Social Work, Nathan was recognised in the University’s 2025 40 Under 40 list for outstanding alumni making a meaningful difference in their field and community.

Being part of the Young Pacific Leaders and Obama Asia-Pacific Leaders initiatives also provided life-changing opportunities to journey with a cohort of amazing people.

“Having that network of people that I trust, who I can celebrate with because they’re doing the most incredible things – I think they changed my career significantly.”

For Nathan, the opportunity to lead comes down to the trust of other people, and he’s constantly thinking about how to honour those who’ve allowed him to hold positions of influence.

“I’m always learning how to be a leader and how to be the best leader, and I don’t think it’s a destination that you ever arrive at. If anyone says that, they’ve got some magical secret.”

As for future leaders, Nathan says they’ll need strong foundations to succeed in an uncertain world. “We need strong and courageous leaders who know who they are, what their whakapapa is, and what’s at their foundation; being grounded enough in order to be courageous is critical.”

Courage has been a cornerstone of the career that Rich Adams has forged in the military, and in emergency management. “I’ve tried, wherever possible, to undertake leadership roles where there’s a tangible result,” he says.

Having graduated from the University of Auckland with an arts degree in ancient history, Rich joined the British Army and studied military and strategic leadership at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK, where the motto is ‘Serve to Lead’.

“Leadership is a privilege not a right. And when you are undertaking a leadership function, your main goal is to enable those you are leading, and servant leadership is the best way to do that.”

During a six-year stint in the British Army, Rich spent seven months serving in Afghanistan and says it became “a core part of who I was”. And it was the chaotic evacuation in 2021 that inspired his formation of the veteran-led Taskforce Kiwi.

“How do I use my skill and experience from that time to have something to point to and say I’ve actually made a positive difference, as opposed to something that was a failure?”

A lot of people want to help when disaster strikes, but Rich says there needs to be an element of leadership to corral people into a more organised unit with a clear mission and the resources and support required.

“That aspect of leadership in emergency management and disaster relief is key. Just enabling people to do it and to provide that support as effectively as possible.”

A 2025 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year semi-finalist, Rich says that while leaders tend to focus on consensus building, there’s also a need for more decisive leadership.

“The amount of time they’ve got to make decisions feels like it’s becoming shorter,” he says, “and an 80 percent solution on time is better than 100 percent down the track.” 

Uniting a community

While spending her formative years in Malaysia, 2026 Kupe scholar Wei Tian Teo saw how those living in rural regions of the country had limited access to healthcare resources. However, she was always reminded by her “worldly and wise” parents about the struggles others face.

That’s why she calls her life in New Zealand privileged, because she doesn’t have to worry about working a second job to put food on the table.

“I can use this privilege to donate towards helping somebody else who might not be able to have the same resources.”

Wei Tian has always been drawn to leadership roles – she was head girl at Auckland’s Macleans College and a founder of her local UN Youth chapter – but says her leadership views have changed since joining the Kupe programme.

“I think the future of leadership really stands in being able to unite a community and get them to care about one specific cause. And it doesn’t have to be one person at the helm doing all the work.”

Getting to meet other scholars doing postgraduate education has created a valuable sense of community, and she’s grateful to have Health New Zealand’s Waitematā chief medical officer, Dr Laura Chapman, as her mentor.

“The mentorship side has revealed to me that my leadership isn’t confined to just the medicine sector. I’m not restricted to just being a doctor. There’s also so much I can do in terms of policy and advocacy and it has really broadened my horizons.”

The focus of Wei Tian's honours research is the development of an open source digital representation of the human body that will be more culturally appropriate and accessible than dissecting cadavers. However, she thinks that her future could lie in the politics of medicine.

“I’d very much like to become someone who can really get a group of people to care about a cause and have that pass through in ways that are actionable for the country – or for the world.”