00:02Watery man Kurt McIntosh never felt interested in being part of board meetings.
00:07In the past I'd shy away from anything to do with country or land because of all the arguments and
00:10disagreements, so I just stayed clear of it.
00:13After years in the mining industry, a chance airport purchase, a book by former US President Barack Obama, changed Kurt's
00:20outlook.
00:20In that book it says a lot of things about leadership and how we can't wait for others to make
00:26decisions for us.
00:26We should be the doers and just do the things, do the hard things.
00:30I'm like, what am I actually doing here? I should be somewhere else, helping the mob.
00:34He now works for Watery Corporation, one of Australia's largest Aboriginal corporations.
00:39So at a board level there can be pretty strong personalities and pretty hot topics to kick around.
00:47So that's a pretty intimidating environment.
00:49But for Kurt, the hardest part of leadership was the pushback from within his own community.
00:54People within a minority group or community will sort of hate on each other, get kicked back from the mob
01:00saying,
01:00oh, you know, what are you, a big shot or something? It's like, no, I'm just trying to help.
01:06This kind of internal shaming is known as lateral violence.
01:10It's believed to stem from a feeling of powerlessness as a consequence of colonisation.
01:15The lateral violence is a huge part of the native title space. It can be really disheartening.
01:20But having a strong connection to country can refill the tank.
01:24Being out on country is probably the one relief that you get.
01:28And once you get out on country, it's kind of like, well, this is why we do it.
01:32This is what it's all about.
01:34For Kurt, being connected to country helps him to navigate the politics of boardrooms and community.
01:40Get back to country and have connection to country like the elders would have wanted.
01:43I feel like I'm continuing the legacy.
01:46Ancient culture still providing a strong foundation for emerging leaders.
01:50And there is a technical foundation for expanding the family.
01:54And I am going to be able to expand the culture of the world.
01:54I feel like the very clear of the world is a foreign nation.
01:55In the sense of any time, it's a different subject and the different country,
01:55it's a different type of unique ability to build an entire world.
01:56And I feel like the entire world is in the same place.
01:56It's a very common enterprise.
01:56The world is in the same place.
01:56The last world is in the same place.
Comments