Principle 5

Transparent and Open Leadership

Kaitiakitanga

Good boards are trusted by the communities they serve, their staff and volunteers, and their funders.

Board Resources Good Governance Code Transparent and Open Leadership

Download the Code (PDF)

Good boards build strong foundations for future growth. They know they are looking after a kaupapa on behalf of their communities and seek to maintain the kaupapa through transparency and engagement. They ensure their values and purposes align with their strategies and service delivery.

Download the Code (PDF)

What Kaitiakitanga looks like in practice

Build relationships with community and iwi leaders and learn about long-term plans for communities and iwi. Good boards seek the voices of their communities and iwi as well as the views of other key stakeholders to guide their major decisions.

Invest time in identifying long-term goals. Evaluate their current work programmes against how much impact they will have today and how much impact they will make in the future.

Respect the critical role of management or operational staff and seek their input to board discussions.

Ensure their meetings and decisions are open and transparent. When appropriate, they hold their meetings in public and share their plans, budgets, and decisions (acknowledging that some information will be kept confidential).

Develop effective mechanisms for receiving community feedback and complaints, anonymously when needed.

Seek open, relationships with their staff and volunteers, recognising that these relationships are two-way. Good boards respect the critical role of the Chief Executive or General Manager and seek their input to board discussions.

Find appropriate ways of reporting to their communities, funders and stakeholders. Good boards ensure their reporting is well documented and easily understood so they can engage effectively with their communities. They share information about their financial and operational performance, the impact they make and how they have upheld their values. This could include transparency around their environmental impacts.

Actions boards can take

Make a map of your key stakeholders. Work out who is most important to you to work with to achieve your goals and focus on building strong relationships with them.

Seek meaningful input from community and iwi leaders on your strategic planning processes. Co-design and strategy workshops with community members and iwi leaders can be an authentic way of engaging with your community.

Take time to work out who is best to engage with iwi, hapū, or Māori organisations in a mana enhancing way. Seek partnerships with Māori organisations and trusts.

Be prepared to pay people with skills in te ao Māori just as it would if you were sourcing other specialist advice.

Be visible and accountable to the communities you serve by creating meaningful opportunities to talk and listen. Review how your board is perceived by stakeholders and your community.

Prepare annual reports and regular updates for your community, stakeholders, and funders. Reports should reflect your current financial position and stories of your organisation’s impact and achievements.

Regularly engage with community members so you understand their issues and concerns, especially leading up t o major decisions.

At the end of each board meeting, decide who needs to be informed and share the responsibility for communicating with your community, staff, stakeholders, and funders.

Seek feedback from management on how the board can be more effective and supportive.