In Western society, the foundation of what was once a more traditional way of thinking about leadership has been replaced by focusing more on gaining and using power, influencing people, and maintaining an appearance of control. These paradigms that often advise management policies, practices, and decisions have generally reflected the structures and cultures from a more White, heterosexual male perspective. This perpetrates the systemic issue in that minorities in the United States continue to remain underrepresented, and this is particularly true for Indigenous peoples. Unfortunately cross-cultural research has not helped the problem in that differences have often been ignored or negated. Adding gender differences to the mix complicates things even further, as leadership has traditionally been studied using masculine norms as behavioral standards. In addition, colonization is acknowledged as having had a destructive effect on indigenous gender relations and cultural dynamics. Therefore, to address this gap in understanding, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore leadership from a gender and Indigenous perspective. From interviewing Lakota women leaders, findings indicate that Indigenous women's leadership is not invariable with dominant mainstream leadership theories, and that further research is needed on Indigenous, as well as Indigenous women leadership perspectives and practices.

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Previously, scholars have implied that leadership theory is “universal” enough and can be applied systematically regardless of cultural influences in subcultures. Leadership research has limited its scope of discernment to dominant society, implying that nonmainstream individuals will acquiesce and that cultural differences are inconsequential. Therefore, the intention of this study was to address the disparity between current leadership theories and a subgroup perspective. Specifically, this study explored leadership from a Lakota Sioux perspective. In this qualitative grounded theory study, six major and five minor themes surfaced: Traditional Values and Behaviors, Putting Others First, Lakota Leadership Qualities (Men, Women, and Fallen Leaders), The Red Road, Nation Building (“Real” Natives and Bicultural), and Barriers. These findings reveal that Lakota leadership is not elucidated by current theory. Thus, to effectively illustrate leadership, researchers should broaden contextual aspects to include subcultures.

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Compelling evidence continues to demonstrate that racism is a modifiable determinant of health inequities. Despite growing recognition of this it is less clear how from a human resource perspective to engage in effective anti-racism.   Through a review of human resource and anti-racism literature, the white, Indigenous and racialised authors examined existing approaches to anti-racism applicable to the health system in Aotearoa.   Two systemic organisational approaches were identified: diversity training and dismantling institutional racism. Recruitment processes, talent management and retention were human resource specific sites for interventions. Insights from anti-racism scholarship including upholding te Tiriti o Waitangi and engaging in decolonising to enable transformative change.   Power-sharing remains at the heart of anti-racism praxis. A health sector response needs to be co-created with Māori and those with the political will to enable transformation. Given racism has a geographic specificity, solutions need to be informed by the cultural, political, social, and historical context.