GROWING BUSINESS: Column

Debate needed about who our community leaders are
The recent Bay of Plenty Times feature on the 10 most powerful women in Tauranga made fascinating reading. More than any other story for quite a while (apart from the local election), it created plenty of discussion - which of course was the whole point.
Inevitably, not everyone agreed with those chosen, especially if they felt someone should have been included (or excluded). I enjoyed listening to the arguments, because I felt there was a deeper dynamic going on that existed beneath the rhetoric.
As I listened, it occurred to me that in fact people were looking at the concepts of power and influence from the wrong angle.
We should in fact be talking about the word "leadership" because power and influence are merely tools of leadership. They are enablers, and our leaders couldn't lead without them.
I believe Tauranga needs more public discussions of this nature because there is less knowledge and awareness about our social, business, political and other structures than in older cities with more established populations.
With such a high proportion of newcomers here, more debate about who our leaders are and what they stand for will deepen our collective knowledge of who we are, what's important to us, and where we are going.
More knowledge and awareness means more emotional loyalty and buy-in to our city and its future. With more buy-in we become more interested in the quality of our local leaders.
We are more likely to answer the questions: Do I have faith in this person to lead me in an area of local life I feel deeply about? If I don't, what am I going to do about it?
As we go through our life stages, different things gain or wane in importance. For example health, education, recreation, social services, employment, crime, local government and the environment all have a degree of significance to us and our families at different times.
All of these elements in our lives are attached to a leader. Some are central government controlled, and we look to Cabinet Ministers for answers.
Some fall under the aegis of local government so we look to our mayor and councillors for answers. Our employers and their leadership abilities are critical to our sense of financial and occupational well being.
School principals, leaders of community institutions, and sport and cultural leadership all affect our sense of confidence in our lives today and in the future. It wouldn't be a stretch of logic to say the better our leaders, the better our community. So does Tauranga have good leaders?
Mayor Stuart Crosby has yet again won a comprehensive victory in the local government election. If ever there was a mandate he has it, but paradoxically he has less power than previous mayors to exercise it.
By contrast, compare iconic Bob Owens - Mayor from 1968 to 1977 - who had the authority to make big decisions that impacted on many people's lives with a minimum of process.
The trend in modern politics at a local and central government level is to severely curtail the wielding of overt power - MMP being an obvious example.
Leadership styles of politicians of the modern era are now more about influence and persuasion than power. Some would argue that's a good thing, but in many cases it is not.
Especially if one believes that the diminishing of political power is directly related to the growth of bureaucratic power. Note the fear in the new Auckland that Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) will marginalise politicians even more.
Blessedly, business leaders have a greater degree of freedom to make big impactful decisions, and it is within this independence that there is an opportunity to contribute to our community.
Are politicians growing less relevant as community leaders? Then perhaps it's time business leaders made their voices heard and further contributed their leadership skills across the board.
It was great to hear Graeme Marshall speaking his mind at the Tourism Bay of Plenty annual meeting, and Jon Mayson isn't worried to tell the truth as he sees it.
There is nothing more powerful than a compelling vision eloquently communicated, and our business community has plenty of leadership skills to contribute to many sectors.
Max Mason is chief executive of Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, which provides networking and support services for local businesses. He can be contacted on email: max@tauranga.org.nz or phone: (07) 577 9823