Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 4, 1 April 2015 — Fostering exceptional leadership [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Fostering exceptional leadership

Every day, Trustees are asked to consider worthy projects and we have to make difficult choices. How do we make sure we are doing the right thing for our lāhui? That's a question that I have to confront every day. That's why I am insisting that trustees be given a complete view of issues brought before

us. There are some really difflcult issues that we must take a position on. And when these tough issues arise, I want to ensure we as trustees have the best information available to us - the good, bad and ugly. We must make our decisions with the best interest of our beneflciaries in mind. So before one of these controversial items comes before the board, I am taking a few additional steps. I will require that OHA's administration and legal counsel consult with the vice-chair of the board, my chief of staff and the board's legal counsel to identify the pros and cons of any issue. I expect that when these issues eome before the board, our staff and attomeys will be ready to provide trustees with a 360-degree view so we ean make the best decisions based on an unbiased and honest analysis of the facts. In the past, we trustees have been accused of micromanagement of the operations of OHA. There has been a puhlie perception of a rift between Trustees and our Chief Executive Offlcer. It is part of the push and pull of govemanee of a puhlie entity. But in reality, we are working together to better the conditions of our lāhui and everyone in Hawai'i. We do care deeply about the future; your trustees and our CEO are working together to do what's right for everyone. How do we ensure this continues? I've taken the step of planning a workshop on govemance. Yes, some of our trustees have been

here for many years. But I view a review of our governing documents and our flduciary responsibilities to be a necessary reboot. Sometimes you do need to stop, take a look at the landscape and adjust your course. Sometimes, taking one step back means you ean regain your bearings as you prepare to take 10 steps forward.

The training workshop will highlight possible consequences as well as sanctions for flduciary negligence or non-eom-plianee. But mostly, we will have the opportunity to refocus our efforts to do what's best for our beneflciaries. We'll also refocus on ways to communicate among ourselves and with you, our beneflciaries. As the ultimate authority over key policy decisions, Trustees must have integrity, be transparent and foster a culture of mutual respect. We must get along. More importantly, we must communicate with aloha and respect, as well as listen to and understand one another. The main ingredient in my leadership recipe is laulima, whieh is a willingness to collaborate and contribute to a harmonious partnership with eaeh other as Trustees, our CEO, staff and beneflciaries. Another is no'ono'o pono, or a focus on our vision and our mission. As Trustees, we must always remind ourselves that we are servant leaders. When we enter our people's house to do our people's business, we must leave our egos at the door. These steps may not necessarily be a cure for everything that ails our organization, but good governanee demands that, as a board, we add value in advancing our vision to create a beloved nation and meet our statutory mission of bettering conditions for our beneficiaries. ■

<LEO 'ELELE V www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org TRUSTEE MESSSAGES ' NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS l FEATURES I EVENT S

Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. Chair, TrustEE, Hawai'i