Podcast: Ashleigh Buchanan – Southern Cross Health Society
[ E13 ]In this episode of Co-op Leader Conversations, Ashleigh Buchanan, Operations Manager – People Capabilities at Southern Cross Health Society and Cooperative Business NZ Emerging Leader of the Year 2024, joins the conversation to reflect on leadership grounded in service, inclusion and community.
Ashleigh shares her journey from a frontline contact centre role into people leadership within one of Aotearoa’s most recognised member-owned organisations. Throughout her career progression, she has maintained a strong servant leadership mindset, viewing leadership not as authority, but as responsibility to members, teams and the wider community.
A significant focus of the conversation is Ashleigh’s work in diversity, equity and inclusion. She speaks candidly about the realities of advancing DEI in a live organisation, including time and resource constraints, the complexity of collecting sensitive data, and the importance of trust and cultural safety. Practical examples include championing bilingual job advertisements in English and te reo Māori, and co-chairing Southern Cross’s DEI Committee.
Looking ahead, Ashleigh reflects on her aspirations to uplift Māori and Pacific communities and the alignment she sees between this work and Southern Cross’s purpose of supporting healthier lives. She also discusses what recognition as Emerging Leader of the Year has meant to her, and why acknowledging emerging talent matters for retaining purpose-driven leaders within the co-operative and mutual sector.
Conversation themes
Servant leadership in member-owned organisations
Career pathways from frontline roles into leadership
Practical approaches to diversity, equity and inclusion
Values, culture and community as leadership anchors
Recognising and retaining emerging leaders
Why this matters
This episode will resonate with co-operatives and mutuals focused on growing leaders from within. It offers grounded insight into how inclusion, service and leadership development reinforce each other in values-based organisations.
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