Enhanced First Nations leadership towards genuine reconciliation

Conversations about First Nations engagement in the workforce are usually confined to the NAIDOC and National Reconciliation Week celebrations.

For the other 50 weeks of the year, the silence can be deafening.

Most organisations have signed off on Reconciliation Action Plans that include commitments to drive forward First Nations leadership.

Enhanced First Nations leadership is an important step towards genuine reconciliation, yet as we can see across all sectors, it remains a work in need of much progress.

The impact of First Nations leadership

There is ample Indigenous representation in leadership positions leading First Nations people.

But as important and encouraging as this might be, it is not the success that true reconciliation demands.

We need greater First Nations leadership across executive leadership ranks everywhere – and not just because it means fulfilment of Reconciliation Action Plans.

Just like the debates we used to have about the value of gender equality – along the lines of ‘why would you ignore half the population’ – the driver behind having more First Nations people in leadership roles should be as much about organisations’ desire for continuous improvement as about the opportunity lost if we ignore the value this group’s contribution to business.

Unlike the gender equality debate, this is not about finding a proportionate spread of leaders from a First Nations background.

It is about the learnings First Nations people can contribute across all spectrums of an organisation, including in leadership roles.

More than 60,000 years of leadership history and culture must not be ignored – not because our Reconciliation Action Plans tell us so, but because it is common sense to tap into this body of incredible knowledge to add different, important and ground-breaking perspectives to how our organisations lead.

And key to this proactive approach needs to be an acknowledgement that Indigenous leadership should not be exclusively confined to First Nations people.

It is time to break the mould of organisations focusing merely on placing a First Nations person in charge of a portfolio pertaining exclusively – or mostly – to First Nations issues.

A comprehensive and culturally responsive pathway

One of AIM WA’s initiatives to drive improvement in this field has been the development and launch of the Beediyar executive development program, which provides a structure that fast-tracks First Nations professionals into executive roles and fosters a new generation of CEOs, directors and senior executives.

In the same way that we have approached diversity as a key means to better outcomes, we must ensure First Nations people are given greater opportunities – and more seats at the decision-making table – to lead in the modern workforce.

It is the right thing to do – based on the important pursuit of reconciliation – but also the smart thing for organisations genuinely committed to fulfilling their potential.

Where to from here?

To learn more about the AIM WA Beediyar program, visit our website or read the following related articles.