In the beginning

To understand Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother) just look out the window to the ridgeline or horizon and see how the two come together. It is a seamless fusion of clouds and blue sky blending in with the natural features of the landscape to create an unbroken and unified sense of being, a joining of the earth and sky. This was Rangi and Papa, locked in a perpetual embrace. Their children however, were trapped between the two, in Te Pō, the deep and eternal darkness.

The separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku

‘ Eeii, tē taea e au te nekeneke,’ tā tētehi I mea atu.’ ‘ I can’t move about said one,’

‘ Kāre au e paku torotoro atu, ’ tā tētahi anō ‘ I can’t stretch and reach out,’ said another

‘ Whuu, ahau hoki, e kore e āhei ana te korikori. ‘ Me too, I can’t move about either.’

The children rebelled. Their restrictive upbringing and a fierce restlessness drove them to devise plans to separate their parents. Only Tāne Mahuta, the guardian of the forest was successful. He separated the two into the sky above and the earth below, ‘ Ko Ranginui kei runga, ko Papatūānuku kei raro.’

A new world was formed

The pitch-black darkness the children had been raised in was obliterated. Now there was light, sunshine and space. A new world was opened to them and they revelled in it. Rangi mourned his wife and his tears fell to the earth as rain. Papatūānuku called to her lost love when they were parted. Her grief is shared as mist that rises from her towards the sky, a token of her pain.

The scattering of resources

Tāwhirimatea who had been against the separation from the start was enraged. He unleashed his winds on his brothers. Hurricanes, tornadoes and cyclones smashed and battered them. This is how our tūpuna explain these winds. Only Tūmatauenga (Tū) the guardian of warfare, true to his mana, stood up to Tāwhiri.

The others were scared. They had not supported Tū in his fight against Tāwhiri. Tāne te manu (guardian of birds and forests), Haumia te roi (Haumia tiketike, guardian of fern root) and Rongo te kumara (Rongomatane/marae roa, guardian of the sweet potato) and their descendants fled, scattering everywhere to hide from Tū. This is how our tūpuna explained the various resources and foods that are found in different places. Tū did come looking. He found them and devoured them. He created a karakia (ritual chant) before consuming them thus rendering everything noa (release from tapu) freeing resources in the environment for people to use.

Status quo vs change

When staff say, ‘ we’ve done that before,’ or ‘ that won’t work,’ they are really resisting change. They are the Rangi and Papa of the workplace who represent safe, comfortable and familiar. But, as all families experience, children will leave the nest eventually and make their own way in the world. Rangi and Papa’s children represent innovation, a global world where communication and exchange through social media platforms challenge the old way of doing things. The status quo is not an option anymore and to resist is to risk extinction. Online sharing, shopping and education are examples of a changing world where providers of goods and services in these areas have been forced to adapt or disappear.

Three lessons for the workplace

1. As Rangi and Papa’s children found, change is the first step towards creating the world and life you want. Doing things the same way only brings more of the same.

2. Change requires adjustment as participants upskill, understand and acquire new behaviours and actions. Be patient, open and available to support strongly as skill acquisition or new systems are embedded. New learning can be demanding, frustrating and mistake-ridden before becoming effortless.

3. Be Tāne Mahuta and carry the weighty issues. Change brings resistance so to carry the load provide evidence and compelling data that supports change and emphasises the impact of remaining the same.

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