WHEN Peter Rigamoto talks about leadership, he often returns to the same semblance – deep waters.
Not the calm, predictable waters where decisions come easily, but the deeper currents where uncertainty exists, where challenges emerge without warning and where leaders are required to think differently and adapt quickly.
Today, as Head of Legal for Digicel Pacific Hub, Rigamoto oversees legal operations across Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Nauru – a role that demands strategic thinking, sound judgment and the ability to navigate increasingly complex environments.
But more than a decade ago, Rigamoto found himself preparing for a different kind of challenge.
Selected for the 2015 Leadership Fiji program, he entered unsure of what lay ahead.
What he discovered over the next year would reshape his understanding of leadership and service.
Looking back, he describes the experience as one that prepared him for “deeper waters” long before he realised just how important that preparation would become.
“I didn’t move into head of legal until another two or three years after the program,” Rigamoto said.
“I think Leadership Fiji came at exactly the right time.
“It prepared me mentally to be in those deeper waters and be a bit curious, reverse engineer to a vision and really understand how to manoeuvre through some of these areas that I had no idea about before.”
For Rigamoto, Leadership Fiji was more than a professional development program.
It was a catalyst that challenged him to think differently, engage more deeply with communities and discover the power of servant leadership.
“If I hadn’t done Leadership Fiji, would I have succeeded? Maybe, but I think this really gave me all the tools in a very nice, concise one-year period.”
A long-awaited opportunity
The journey to Leadership Fiji had been years in the making.
As early as 2009, Rigamoto had hoped to join the program. However, a move to Papua New Guinea interrupted those plans.
After returning to Fiji in 2012, he focused on re-establishing himself professionally before finally applying in 2014.
The selection process was competitive, with only around 30 participants chosen annually from a significantly larger pool of applicants.
“I was very lucky because only 30 or so people are chosen every year, with over 60 applicants,” he said.
“It’s a fairly rigorous interview process and I was very blessed to be chosen.”
Yet acceptance into the program brought its own uncertainty.
“When you’re chosen, it feels slightly daunting because you just don’t know what to expect.”
That uncertainty quickly gave way to discovery.
The opening retreat introduced participants to the foundations that would underpin the year ahead, vision, teamwork, self-awareness and understanding different personality types.
“I think the opening retreat was very good because it prepared us,” Rigamoto said.
“One of the most important things throughout the year was understanding how we can all come together even though we have very different personalities.”
That lesson would prove invaluable.
Throughout the program, participants were immersed in different facets of Fiji’s society, exploring sectors ranging from tourism and justice to education and community development.
The exposure broadened Rigamoto’s perspective beyond the legal profession and challenged him to see leadership through a wider lens.
“Leadership Fiji showed you how to use your skills in different facets of life,” he said.
“It opened my eyes to areas I would never normally have been exposed to.”
The power of servant leadership
But it was not the workshops or presentations that left the deepest impression.
Instead, some of the most meaningful lessons came through service.
Rigamoto’s cohort worked on community projects that included building play areas at schools.
What began as a program requirement evolved into something much more significant.
“We did a lot of projects with schools in terms of building play areas,” he said.
“Even after we finished our year, we kept going because it was really a team effort.”
For Rigamoto, these projects embodied a principle that had been passed down through generations of his family.
“One of the things I learned from my father and grandfather was servant leadership,” he said.
“If you put good things into the world, good things can happen and doing those things with the right heart matters.”
The impact of that philosophy became evident each time a project was completed.
“When you see the joy on the faces of the children, I think that was one of the most fulfilling parts of my life journey,” he said.
“It wasn’t something one person could do alone.”
Everyone contributed, fundraising, planning, organising and helping on the day.
The experience reinforced an enduring truth about leadership; meaningful change is rarely achieved by individuals acting alone.
The strongest leaders, Rigamoto believes, are those willing to serve others and bring people together around a common purpose.
Continuing the leadership journey
That commitment to service continued after graduation.
At the end of each Leadership Fiji program, one participant is selected to join the organisation’s board.
Rigamoto was chosen from what he describes as an exceptionally talented cohort.
“We had a very tight race because there were some very good people in our year,” he said.
“I was blessed to be chosen.”
He served on the board for two years before stepping away to pursue his second master’s degree.
More recently, he returned to support the organisation through company secretarial work in the board.
Serving alongside some of Fiji’s most respected leaders has provided another valuable leadership classroom.
“The board members are very high calibre in their individual fields,” he said.
“We have very strong leaders and it’s a privilege to serve with them.”
While Leadership Fiji sharpened his leadership capabilities, Rigamoto remains grounded in the values that shaped him long before the program.
“I’m blessed with a very strong family of leaders,” he said.
“Through that came strong work ethics and great mentorship.”
What Leadership Fiji provided, he believes, was the framework to apply those values more effectively across different areas of life and work.
Don’t sit on the sideline
More than 10 years after completing the program, Rigamoto still considers it one of the most influential experiences of his professional journey.
“I believe different facets of my life have grown exponentially since then,” he said.
For those considering applying, his message is straightforward.
“Absolutely do it.
“If you finish Leadership Fiji, you become more accustomed to being in deep waters. You develop curiosity and servant leadership, and those things will take you on adventures you would not ordinarily go on.”
For a leader whose career has been defined by embracing new challenges, it is advice forged through experience.
“Don’t just sit on the sideline, jump in,” Rigamoto said.
