we succeed together
Ki te kāpuia e kore e whati
It has often been noted in songs, poetry, and traditional wisdom that “no one is an island”. We need one another. We succeed together. Unfortunately the individual desire to succeed can reduce another person’s sense of worth and value, it also stops people working together to produce something greater than themselves. People remain isolated, anxious, and suspicious of another’s success. However, when we support and encourage one another our wellbeing and resilience increases; we feel more confident to make our contribution in the world, to overcome problems together, and to achieve more than we ever thought was possible.
We Succeed together
we succeed together
There is a Māori proverb that says, “Nau te rourou, naku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri”, which translates, “With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive”.
One of the cultural peculiarities of Tall Poppy Syndrome is that we show we “care” by mocking each other. There can be some light-hearted fun with this, but without direct encouragement and support people tend to wilt. E Tū Tāngata wants to foster a different approach: one where it is common practice to call out and support the strengths we each have. Together, not only can we create something greater than ourselves, but it also enables us to be the best, and healthiest versions of ourselves.
Support each other
When we support each other there is no longer the need to compare ourselves with others to see if we’re good enough. There is no longer the need to compete with others to prove that we’re good enough, but instead it enables us to complement others with the strengths we each have. Our whanau is better when we support the strengths and successes of each member. Our communities are stronger. Our cities are stronger. Our nation is stronger. We are stronger together, we succeed together.
Our achievements
We can see this clearly in our achievements as a sporting nation. We are a nation of sporting greats; we have won world cups in netball and rugby among others. In each team there are some truly great players, some who are even considered legends in their field. But no matter how great a single player may be, he or she could never succeed on their own. They needed their team members, they needed the support staff, their mentors, their family and friends. Even a great player, without the support of others, achieves little. And when others support a player to score, they all succeed.
With the principle of, “We Succeed Together”, we want to encourage the team mindset, and encourage people to consider more and more, “How can we succeed together?” When the strengths are called out of each one of us, when the strengths and successes are supported in each of us, we lift the wellbeing and achievement for everyone.
