Written by Lisa Ridehalgh, Foundation North
Well this is new. Wait, this is weird. Oh my god, this is actually surreal. I take it all back Zoom, you weren’t so bad after all!
We arrive at a concrete and glass mass, erupting through a baize cloak of ridiculously green grass. I lift my gaze: Rangitoto looms comfortingly and the Waitematā sparkles to return me to my grounded state - these surroundings are fake and these feelings are temporary. The warmth of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki’s opening mihi enfolds me and it is time to get on with the kaupapa that is Retreat One of The NZ Leadership Programme at Rydges Formosa Golf Resort in Beachlands, Auckland.
I have been handed a tee to place in the ground, and invited to balance a ball (myself) on top.
During the Mihi Whakatau and Launch I am told that in this game not only am I the ball, I am also the striker of the ball. It is going to be me propelling me into the vastness. Josephine Bartley (Auckland Councillor for Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward) affirms how life-changing this was for her – I have to admit the potential for weight loss alone is exciting. Previous cohorts watch as I take hold of this rākau and Louise Marra declares “I’m a little bit afraid of you”.
Others have told me this game will require many drives and many landings – sometimes on firm ground, sometimes in dense ferns, sometimes into a pile of cigarette butts. Sir Bob Harvey asks us to find a landscape where you can speak to yourself (and that kauri trees and whales are related). Maybe I will hang in the air for a while, before plopping into a pool of water or disappearing into a patch of sand so fine and so deep that I meet my childhood me through the gentle and loving persuasion of Dr. Karlo Mila.
I stand back and study the spot, then scan the green of the course, then back down to the spot again – I am exploring leadership. These moments between thinking about hitting the ball and actually hitting it are where big decisions get made – those leadership kind of decisions. The mental space of these moments requires me to be super-present: to name my judgments, to consider how my super-ego has been operating and to park everything else over there, next to everyone else’s little white buggies of self-doubt.
Knowing myself in those moments: the care I take to breath and steady myself, mindful of the muscles I know I have and feeling for the places where they are lacking, being able to see where are the parts of me – the precise spot, the right angle on the ball - that I need to connect with for me to do good, to be impactful, to land in a good place and land there intact.
It feels natural and safe for me to practice my swing over an imaginary tee first. Over the different sessions I do this many times; I compare my stance, my power, my grip, even my snazzy golf trousers, with those around me. I witness others, like Dan Gerrard, bravely strike out from their own tees out across their own fairways and feel a little bit afraid of, and afraid for, them.
In this game you can’t walk back to your bag to select a different club – there isn’t a different version of me to take my place. It’s time to yield to and yes, even dare to celebrate being both ball and club.
WHOOOSH ----THWACK!!!
Apologies to Rydges Formosa Golf Resort (not a hotel), and to the sport of golf which some wag once described as “a good walk spoiled” (Anon).
Did Lisa’s story resonate with you? This is one of many courageous, enriching and impactful journeys on The NZ Leadership Programme.
Are you a leader for the future of Aotearoa? Are you a mid-level, senior or community leader in New Zealand who wishes to help evolve its leadership landscape? Do you know someone who is?
Applications are open for the The NZ Leadership Programme 2022.
We warmly invite suitable leaders across New Zealand to apply now.