bp Leaders For Life Profiles

J’Adoube Elkington
bp Leaders for Life 2019
"The whole
programme was
awesome. There's
a huge pool of
knowledge you can
take from as part of bp
Leaders for Life."
My name is J’Adoube Elkington (ko Ngati Toa, Ngati Koata ōku iwi). I’m a Surf Lifeguard based out of
Titahi Bay Surf Life Saving Club, with a secondary membership at Mangawhai Heads Volunteer
Lifeguard Service. I’ve just finished a busy season patrolling at Piha and am also involved as a Beach
Education Instructor here in Auckland. In my “other life,” I’m finishing off a Masters of Architecture
and my dream job is to design Surf Life Saving Clubs.
My favourite thing about the bp Leaders for Life programme was the line-up of speakers who came
and talked to us about their leadership journeys. The whole programme was awesome and I really
liked meeting leaders within Surf Life Saving as well, from a wide range of clubs and regions.
Being around other leaders and gauging their styles helped me develop my own. Everyone has a
different character and leadership style, but I’ve learned that I prefer to work collaboratively and to
be as hands-on as I can.
I think many different types of people would benefit from the bp Leaders for Life programme –
especially people who are eager to develop themselves professionally. However, my one piece of
advice would be to not go in too early; wait until you’ve had a leadership role (even a minor one) so
because this way you’ll have a bit of a foundation to work from over the course of the programme.
There’s so much to learn and there’s a huge pool of knowledge and experience you can take from as
part of bp Leaders for Life.