“Climbing the Same Mountain”

Abstract

The enactment of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand has varied greatly over the time since colonial settlement, and it is still a debated and evolving concept. In this article we examine practices adopted by one Māori Chief Executive Officer in two different workplaces at two different points in time to illustrate this process in action. Our analysis examines the way he opens meetings of his senior management teams, demonstrating the way he adopts flexible and context-sensitive approaches, taking account of exactly where each organisation and each individual, whatever their ethnicity and varied cultural experience, is located along the pathway to biculturalism. His introduction of Māori tikanga (ways of doing things) and practices into both workplaces sends the message that Māori culture and language are valued, while the differences between the two organisations, including a greater focus on bilingualism as part of biculturalism more recently, reflects shifting attitudes in wider society.