Opinion: It’s that time of year when we take stock of how the last 12 months have gone, and start to make plans for the year ahead – while we sit by the beach if we’re lucky, and read pieces like this about other people’s ideas for the same thing.

When I was asked to pen this one, the toughest thing was to narrow it down to just a few ideas. In the end I decided to start with a loose theme of how we might get our mojo back collectively as a nation in 2026.

I was thinking about a recent adrenaline rush I had zip-lining with family in Rotorua, and it made me reflect on how rewarding the courage of taking even small actions can be.

It’s an understatement to say that the last couple of years have been tough for many of us, individually and in the business community.

While I’m optimistic that we are starting to turn the corner, I want to share four hopes for how we might get there faster and stronger, and shape a more prosperous, confident, and courageous New Zealand.

For me personally, as someone with three children reaching an age where they’re asking themselves what they want to do for their future, I have the extra incentive of wanting them to have opportunities here at home!

Action to drive prosperity

My first hope is that as leaders, we collectively commit to drive action – real, measurable steps that are anchored in goals for New Zealand’s prosperity. Prosperity isn’t just about economic growth, it’s about creating opportunities that rise the tide for all, and building resilience across financial, social, cultural, and environmental measures of success. It’s celebrating what we love about Aotearoa.

For a small country at the bottom of the world, success can mean doubling down on a few sectors where we can play to our strengths, and where our isolation and pioneering spirit gives us an edge on the world stage.

We’ve seen the power of this approach in sectors like agritech, where New Zealand’s focus on quality, sustainability, and innovation has enabled us to take our food to the world for generations. The challenge is to keep innovating to grow that success, while also regenerating our natural resources. As a country that derives over 75 percent of our export wealth from nature, it stands to reason that doing this in a way that replenishes our natural resources will deliver increased economic value and viability over the long-term.

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The same is true for our renewable energy sector. Sustainably harnessing our natural resources, like geothermal energy, is an opportunity for us to innovate and provide a blueprint for its use globally. We were at the forefront in the development of hydroelectric energy, a legacy to be proud of, which as well as proving economically sound, has also established our credentials as leaders in clean energy solutions. This is the kind of vision and foresight we can and should look to emulate to meet the demands for electrification through our energy ecosystem.

Prosperity is also about mindset. It’s about setting aspirational goals, and then getting stuck in and getting started. It’s about celebrating the wins that matter, big and small, and recognising that every action – no matter how local – can create positive change. My hope is that in 2026, we collectively keep our eyes on the outcomes that matter and act boldly to deliver them.

Confidence and pride in what makes us unique

My second hope is that after a tough couple of years, we can rediscover our ‘mojo’ – our confidence and pride in the things that make our nation unique. Things like our world-class creative industries, our leadership in sustainable agriculture, or our reputation for innovation and problem-solving – working out how to do things rather than accepting that they can’t be done… We have so much collectively to be proud of.

Take, for example, our burgeoning space and aerotech sector. Our geographical isolation may be a disadvantage in some spheres, but it is also a competitive edge, attracting global players and fostering homegrown success stories like Rocket Lab. By continuing to invest in these areas, backing the winners we already have and actively uncovering new ones, we can carve out a distinctive place for New Zealand in the global economy.

This confidence can and should extend to all our communities and regions as well. Prosperous growth isn’t just about wealth generation. It’s about vibrant regional communities, innovative reindustrialisation, and aligning infrastructure investment with sustainability goals. If we work together and leverage our smarts we can deliver solutions that overcome today’s challenges, while also setting our communities up for a prosperous future. When we play to our strengths and believe in our ability to make a difference, we unlock new possibilities for everyone.

Courage for system change

My third hope is that we find the courage to drive whole-of-system thinking. The challenges we face with economic growth, energy transition, decarbonisation, climate adaptation and social equity are complex and interconnected. None of them is a simple problem.

As we look for solutions, we risk falling into the trap of maintaining the status quo and indecision as the ‘safer’ path. This is a self-fulfilling malaise of standing still that I believe contributes to our declining productivity.

We can learn from examples both at home and abroad. In Singapore, long-term vision and purposeful planning have enabled the city to anticipate challenges and invest in infrastructure that supports growth, sustainability, and quality of life.

In Auckland, after years of planning and regulatory hurdles, the City Rail Link is almost here, and will connect the people that live in our biggest city for generations. Selfishly, as someone who commutes by train from the south of Auckland to the CBD, I am super excited about this one!

At Beca we know that everything we do is part of a bigger system, and increasingly it’s this system-based thinking and the ability to weave the threads together to design and engineer resilient solutions, which provides the real added value in what we do. These approaches require us to challenge existing norms and the processes that reinforce them, embrace new ways of doing things, and take risks.

My hope is we will take the path to build resilient communities and a future-fit economy. To do this we need to be able to make choices about the future we want and say ‘yes’ to driving change to progress towards it.

Valuing diverse voices

And last, but definitely not least, my hope is that we continue to value the voices and diversity that we have in New Zealand. As the leader of a New Zealand-founded and headquartered business that works across the Asia Pacific region, I see the power of this firsthand.

Other countries look at our integration of Te Ao Māori principles here in Aotearoa as something to emulate, just as our Māori culture sets us apart on the world stage, and increasingly First Nations perspectives are becoming integral to our work in Australia. Just as our Māori culture sets us apart on the world stage, the way we integrate diverse voices into how we solve problems is an opportunity to be renowned for how we deliver!

I believe that the full spectrum and breadth of diversity of thought and experience we have in our country is a great source of strength and creativity. This isn’t just about representation. It’s about genuinely taking a mindset that diverse views matter: listening to different viewpoints, valuing voices and perspectives, amplifying stories that might otherwise go unheard, and creating space for innovation to flourish. In our business this helps ensure we deliver solutions for our clients and communities that will work for the people that use them, both now and in the future.

Looking forward

If these aspirations sound ambitious, that’s because I think overt ambition is needed from leaders to drive us towards a prosperous future that our children will want to stay in New Zealand to be part of.

If the past year has taught me anything, it’s that hope drives belief if it is partnered with courageous action. As we step into 2026, let’s be bold in our ambitions, confident in our uniqueness, and relentless in our pursuit of action.

If my zip-lining experience is anything to go by, it will certainly make for a thrilling ride!

As they often do, whakataukī say it best – and much more succinctly than I have. Ko te pae tawhiti, whāia kia tata. Ko te pae tata, whakamaua kia tina. Seek out distant horizons and cherish those you attain.