Leading the way through wellbeing: Te Whare Tapa Whā
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been deep in 360 assessment debriefs with leaders across the country as we launch our next round of large-scale development programmes for 2022. This means we’ve been spending time inside leaders’ minds and those who work closely with them. And there’s one headline theme coming through loud and clear: people are craving leadership of wellbeing, moving from talking about it to actually role modeling what it looks like in action.
Here’s what we’re noticing: people do what you do, not what you say
Team members, colleagues, peers and managers are all calling leaders out on a request to take care of themselves: “I’d like to see her work fewer hours and take more time to pause for herself”, or, “I’m concerned about his mental health. I never see him stop.”
And when we test this feedback with leaders, we get a couple of critical responses. In some instances, our leaders take the time out and feel they invest strongly in their wellbeing, yet they are not talking about it with their teams. So their efforts go unseen.
In other instances, our leaders agree. They are exhausted and burnt out.
In both instances, we do not see actions, behaviours or conversations in teams that help demonstrate leading the way through wellbeing. And people are craving it. They want to see examples of how we teach and take care of ourselves, and they want to see leaders hold themselves to account.
How are you modeling the way on wellbeing?
‘Modeling the way’ refers to leading by and setting an example for your team. It’s about being clear on your values and guiding principles and demonstrating these daily through your actions. One way to sense-check wellbeing in your world is to reflect on Te Whare Tapa Whā – a holistic Māori model for health and wellbeing. We reference this model in many of our leadership programmes and particularly value the holistic view it brings to the conversation. For me, it is a crucial anchor to my own wellbeing.
About Te Whare Tapa Whā
Te Whare Tapa Whā is a holistic Māori model for health and wellbeing that has been widely adopted for its relevance to all. First developed in 1984 by Tā (Sir) Mason Durie, it focuses on four cornerstones or dimensions of wellbeing:
- Te taha wairua: spiritual health
- Te taha hinengaro: mental/emotional health
- Te taha tinana: physical health
- Te taha whānau: social/family health
Over the years, the ‘whenua’ or land has also been acknowledged as part of the model. Whenua is the place where we stand, our connection to the land and source of life and nourishment. For many of us, we can think of whenua as our place of belonging, the place we come from and the spaces that we go to that help us feel comfortable, safe and able to be ourselves.
The wharenui (meeting house) symbolises and illustrates the dimensions of wellbeing and serves as a reminder to nurture and strengthen all aspects of our lives to better support our wellbeing.
If something challenges a taha - dimension or ‘side’, the idea is you can draw on your other taha (dimensions or sides) or foundation whilst you strengthen that taha again. You can support and build your wellbeing resilience by better understanding the four dimensions and taking small steps within each to improve the overall strength of your wharenui.
Here’s what the model might look like in action
I often do a quick check and use a scale of 1-10 to see how each dimension of my wharenui is going. I have some questions that I ask myself that help calibrate where I’m at.
At the time of writing this blog, my wellbeing reflection looked like this:
Te taha wairua: spiritual health
Taha wairua refers to our spiritual wellbeing and can be connected to faith or religion or be as simple as taking notice and appreciating the beauty around us (a state of being).My current rating for this dimension is 5/10, mainly due to the ongoing complexities of COVID restrictions and my active role as mum to three little ones under six. I often struggle to find space in my week for reflection, gratitude and mindfulness – however, I know how vital these things are to my spiritual health, which means I feel it deeply when space for these moments to pause are missing in my life.
Questions I use to explore this area:
How am I taking care of my spiritual wellbeing?
What is supporting me to connect with my higher purpose?
How am I creating space for reflection and gratitude?
How am I creating space for mindfulness?
How am I talking about and role modeling care for spiritual health
Te taha hinengaro: mental/emotional health
Taha hinengaro is how you feel, communicate and think - your mental and emotional health. These stem from your mind, heart, and conscience.My current rating for this dimension is 8/10. I am fortunate to do mahi, which I love, with a passionate team at CVL. I also have great friends and family support, nurturing my mental and emotional health. Since the beginning of the year, I made a conscious decision to switch off the TV in our home at news time, and this has also made a big difference in how I engage with and process the challenges in the world right now. Again, this decision has had a positive impact on my mental health.
Questions I use to explore this area:
How am I taking care of my mental and emotional wellbeing?
Am I surrounding myself with people who support and nourish my emotional health?
How am I creating space for mindfulness?
To what extent am I controlling my screen time to keep my mental and emotional health?
How am I talking about and role modeling care for my mental and emotional wellbeing?
Te taha tinana: physical health
Taha tinana is how you nurture and care for your physical health, your body.My current rating for this dimension is 4/10. Again, with my active role as a mum, parenting, looking after a household and working part-time, I find very little space currently for my physical health. I am working hard to integrate this area into our day-to-day activities – such as going for a family bush walk with the kids – but ultimately, I’d love to be doing more for myself here to take care of my physical health.
Questions I use to explore this area:
What have I done today to nurture my physical health?
How much time have I spent in the fresh air and nature?
What are my energy levels?
How does my body feel?
How often have I left my desk, stretched my body and nourished myself with fresh water?
How am I talking about and role modelling care for my physical health?
Te taha whānau: social/family health
These are the people you care about and share your life with, who make you feel like you belong. This includes your family, friends, colleagues and community.My current rating for this dimension is 9/10. I prioritise my time with family and friends. Over the lockdown period this past couple of years, my family has had so many intimate and memorable times together, which has been great for our social and family health. I also focus on supporting others, both through the work I do and through our volunteer and charity connections. This taha is by far my strongest right now.
Questions I use to explore this area:
Whom have I connected with today?
How am I maintaining the relationships in my world?
How is my family tracking?
Who might need my support, and how can I reach out to show I care?
Who have I helped today?
How am I talking about and role modelling social and family health?
How strong is your wharenui right now?
While my social connections and mental and emotional health feel robust right now, my physical health and spiritual health are feeling much lower and are the areas requiring some focus for me. So over the coming weeks, I am committing to re-engaging with my yoga practice (which serves my spiritual and physical wellbeing) and ensuring I create space to take care of my body.
Te Whare Tapa Whā ultimately serves as a reminder to nurture and strengthen all aspects of your life to better support your wellbeing. We are grateful for the gift of the model and hope you also can get value from it.
Take a moment, boil the kettle and reflect on your current wharenui.
· What taha needs your immediate attention?
· What’s one thing you can do today to strengthen that taha?
For more information on Te Whare Tapa Whā, visit www.mentalhealth.org.nz or www.blueprint.co.nz.
To learn more about our leadership workshop series or coaching support with CVL, get in touch with us today.
