The Maori tribe in New Zealand has a beautiful term for it: whakamana, which means ‘to give prestige to, give authority to, confirm, enable, authorize, legitimize, empower, validate.’ (Mana means ‘power,’ and whaka means ‘to give.’) Whakamana is what leaders need to do to resolve the adolescent predicament and satisfy young people’s sensitivity to status and respect.
David Yeager, PhD