Early this week, FMF Foods Ltd signed the golden sponsorship agreement for naming rights to the Legacy Leadership Symposium organised in Fiji by a consortium of consultancy firms in Fiji and Tonga active in the leadership space.
To that end, the event, scheduled for March 13 to 15 at Sofitel resort, Denarau, Nadi, is now known as the FMF Legacy Leadership Symposium.
While not divulging how much it will be forking out as naming rights sponsor, the publicly listed food manufacturer obviously holds close to heart the importance of leadership.
“In today’s fast-changing world, we need leaders who understand different perspectives,” said Maria Kumar, FMF’s group marketing manager.
“These symposiums help us learn from each other and see things from new angles.
“Secondly, connecting people from various fields spark new ideas and collaborations.
“This is crucial because many of the challenges we face today require creative solutions and teamwork across different sectors.
“Thirdly, FMF Legacy Leadership Symposium is to help develop the next generation of leaders by providing mentorship and resources to empower young people to take on leadership roles and make a positive difference in their communities.
“In short, FMF Legacy Leadership Symposium is more than just three days event. They’re engines of progress, bringing people together, fostering innovation, nurturing talent and ensuring that leadership is open to all.”
Indeed the importance of leadership and the need for good leadership cannot be overstated, said Ana Laqeretabua, founder and principal consultant of Partners of the Pacific Legacy Leadership’s leading partner Salt Inc PTE Ltd.
“There’s a quote that says: ‘Everything rises and falls on leadership’ and when you think about it, the buck really does start and stop with the leader.
“This means that the leader needs to be one step ahead of the game and know what is required, not just in terms of technical know-how but more importantly in terms of leading people and navigating for the people in different situations,” she told the Fiji times.
“Which speaks to the need for continuous leadership development.
“A good leader is always growing, always learning new ways of adding value to the people they lead.”
Salt Inc. was a key partner at the inaugural Legacy Leadership Symposium in Tonga in April last year, a three-day event officially opened by the Queen of Tonga and attended by over 200 participants, according to Ms Laqeretabua.
Genesis
Her involvement in the leadership space goes back to 2017 when she joined the world renowned Maxwell Leadership Team.
“I was actually introduced to the team by Katrina Mau Fatiaki who is one of the other partners for the upcoming FMF Legacy Leadership Symposium,” Ms Laqeretabua said.
“I was at the stage of my journey where I was doing particularly well with consultancy contracts, I was working in PNG at the time for a Australian Government funded project but I felt that there was more to life than just making money through consultancy work and I wanted a way to give back and share my gifts and talents with the world.
“Katrina introduced me to the Maxwell Leadership Team and we went together to Orlando, Florida in 2017 to get certified as coaches, facilitators and trainers with the Maxwell team.
“It was a huge financial investment but I can confidently say today that the return on investment has been huge and when I say that I don’t mean just financial returns but returns in relation to every other area of my life.
“I have become a better person relationally, I have become a lot more aware of my blind spots and my weaknesses and I am part of team of people who are constantly up-levelling themselves and adding value to others.
“You can’t go wrong when you intentionally put yourself in that kind of growth environment and adopt the posture and attitude of one who is willing to grow and learn from others.”
Leadership vision
One line from her presentation at this week’s announcement piqued my interest – fitting, I thought, as today’s inter-connected world and more vocal citizens up the pressure on leaders to be more responsible, transparent and accountable.
“Our vision is really to start to influence the leadership landscape of the region and to promote a more people-centered values leadership culture, where leaders are paying more attention to the people that they’re leading and not necessarily just focusing on the position that they’re in and the power that that position gives them,” she said.
Not only in politics or business.
In our communities and homes too.
“Leaders are people who have influence over others and when you think about it within that context, you realise that in our families there are leaders who influence, in society there are those who influence and business houses also have influence,” Ms Laqeretabua said.
“This is where you see corporate organisations take on Corporate Social Responsibility and start to use their influence for social good and to impact society in a positive way.
“The key is for everyone to be aware of their level of influence and to be intentional with using that influence for good. Which is where — People Centered Values Based Leadership comes in.
“It requires the person to be aware of their values as a leader and how these values influence the way they lead others,” Ms Laqeretabua explained.
The partners are expecting over 300 participants at next month’s symposium from Fiji and the Pacific region.
“Our vision is to influence the leadership landscape in the region and to bring about a common understanding that leadership is more than just a position or a title and that good leadership is developmental and it all starts with the leader being willing to grow themselves before they can grow others.
“Leaders cannot give what they don’t have so they need to be constantly growing so they can be on top of their game and add value to those in their spheres of influence.
“We hope to bring about a deeper appreciation for the value of leadership development and a commitment to invest in ongoing development for leaders.
“There is no quick fix to this but it requires ongoing sustained investment and commitment to people and to leadership growth and development,” Ms Laqeretabua said.
Other partners in Partners of the Pacific include Tapuaki Mei Langi Consultancy in Tonga and Fiji-based Nayacalevu Vision Consultancy.
