The primary aim of this article is to offer an indigenous perspective of relational leadership as a way-of-being and doing leadership. It is based on a longitudinal qualitative investigation of Māori leaders and practitioners in the screen industry. The findings revealed three distinct themes; embodying relational leadership, enacting relational leadership and macrocontextual influences in relational leadership. This study affirmed the ways in which culture and worldviews shaped the identity of Māori leaders, confirming that relational leadership is a process of social construction, which emerges from the dynamic interaction between ontology (ways of being) and praxis (ways of doing). This contribution charts new territory in leadership theory contributing new ways of understanding relational leadership from an indigenous Māori perspective. It highlights the importance of holistic theorisations of leadership that examine culture, identity and the macro-contextual dimensions that influence leadership.