10 things 2020 has taught me...

1. Science and Innovation continue to be a strength for our country. I am super proud of how Aotearoa listened to science and acted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, my role as a Trustee on the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust board allowed me to see the incredible innovative work that scientists and researchers are doing all over the world. Science and Innovation mark progression.
2. Gratitude surrounds me as we move into the last week of the working year, I am so grateful for those around me who continue to be amazing. Working in a purpose-led company with a vision to create impactful futures is one of the greatest gifts. Waking up and knowing we are changing people’s lives for the better certainly drives me.
3. We’ve seen some phenomenal movements this year, but none other than Black Lives Matter. More than ever, we have seen the importance of speaking up, turning up, demanding change. As our lives get busier and more devices find their way into our hands - this year has taught us that humans have incredible power…. voice & action that can affect change. 
4. This year has been one of new skills for many people. I loved having conversations with people about what skills they were learning. And I don’t just mean formal qualifications, but going back to basics. The wonderful Murray Streets introduced me to Master Class. I soon purchased a 2-for-1 deal for $300 and my eyes and ears were opened to a great new world of learning. Master Class is a simple video-based learning platform with people like our very own Parris Goebel, Anna Wintour, Alesha Kayes, Gordon Ramsay teaching people all sorts of things from dance and making the perfect sourdough to how to negotiate and sleep therapy. My first class was with Annie Leibovitz during the lockdown, and allowed me to reconnect with the SLR camera that had looked at me every day as I opened my wardrobe for years! 
5. Community and connection - this year has certainly taught us to be more mindful of our community, to reconnect with those across the fence with more meaningful conversations that are more than just ‘have a good day’ as we jump into our cars and drive off. I loved that our neighbour set up a Whatsapp group to check in on everyone and we frequently used it to let people know we were off to the supermarket. I loved that people were friendly and talked to one another as we went on our daily walks during lockdown around One Tree Hill. I’ve made a pledge to keep that up and say hello and talk to as many dog owners as I can to ensure we don’t lose that basic human connection with strangers.
6. This year has taught me that now more than ever we need to challenge traditional hierarchical, western, white, often male-dominated leadership styles that hold a belief that a certain word in your title gives you power. We need to raise the bar in the ‘for good’ space. I was honored to be part of a team that launched a new Programme: Leading Change for Good. We welcomed 2 cohorts, in September and November, and it was incredible to see such a phenomenal group of individuals who are on the journey to genuinely seek ‘for good’ and provide authentic value to their communities and workplaces. These people came from far and wide - from iwi, healthcare, education, corporates, small businesses, primary industries, creative industries, corrections.
7. Those that know me well, know that collaboration is one of my core personal values, but also one of our values at The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab. This year, like others, has reminded me why this still remains an important value. In order for us to create impactful futures, we need to collaborate across the board. When the first lockdown happened, our team collaborated with @Genesis Energy to ensure we could offer mindlabkids.com free to all kiwi kids. Furthermore, the collaboration across teams during lockdown blew me away. Our Digital Skills for the Workplace team and marketing team quickly collaborated to get our programme online and condensed into a 4-week version to help people digitise. I was also part of two government pitches late this year that allowed new collaborations for us with businesses such as Patu Media, Run, We Accounting, The Attention Seeker, Maanaki, Indigo,K&J. 
8. With anything in life, trust is built, it happens over time and there are proof points along the way. I’m loving reading that Aoteroa has an opportunity to flourish in this new economy, the trust economy. There is a massive opportunity for us to show up and have a seat at the table no matter what our population size is. An example of this was shown as Microsoft made a commitment to establish a data centre in Aotearoa earlier this year. 
9. For the past 5 years, I have enjoyed practising mindfulness both on my own and in my regular body balance class. However, this year required more frequent practice which isn’t surprising! However, one thing l loved and was really proud of is our marketing team’s ability to reach out to one of our experts, Joni Gordon, who is finishing her PhD in Mindfulness for māori Boys. Together they created a term 4 survival pack for teachers which included a series of beautiful mindful practices. I must admit, as I reviewed the work, I went through all four videos with my 2-year-old daughter. Never too young to start mindfulness right?
10. One thing I am so excited about is returning Kiwis. I am super excited to see so many talented people coming home to NZ. I know that for many of them this is due to unforeseen circumstances, but I want to challenge Aotearoa to open their hearts and their minds. We need to embrace these great minds coming home. And for anyone that says ‘you don’t have NZ experience’, shame on you! This is our greatest opportunity to ensure that this talent is utilised to its full potential. 

Have a wonderful summer break, NZ. Here’s to 2021! 

That’s a wrap!