Pou Herenga

whāinga | our intent and vision

As an Aotearoa New Zealand based organisation we are committed to giving effect to the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi which describes the relationship envisaged by the Rangatira of the hapū with the British Crown.

We believe that the frameworks, assumptions and beliefs that have largely dominated in Aotearoa in the last 180+ years need to be challenged, deconstructed and then reimagined in the light of mātauranga māori; a process of both decolonization and re indigenization.

• Consequently we are a Tiriti o Waitangi-led, impact focussed leadership consultancy.
• We grow leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand who develop equitable and flourishing communities and organisations. 

We believe that collective approaches provide the key to addressing the complex challenges we face and we enable this through co-designing collective impact projects with communities and agencies.

We work alongside agencies (local and central government), organisations (businesses and NGO’s) and sectors (education, health, emergency and social services etc).

tikanga | the practice of our values

Our practice is informed by a wide range of frameworks which include;

The powhiri process

principles of engagement through tikanga

• We endeavour to incorporate the tikanga of powhiri into all our mahi
• Powhiri is a process designed to weave (whiriwhiri) two groups of people together and is a traditional practice that acknowledges the  tangible and intangible.
• The powhiri model creates space for engagement and relationship through principles that are guided by tikanga.
• This allows us to navigate the journey from tapu to noa, unknown to known, restricted to unrestricted. It holds spaces for reflection, stories, whakapapa, celebration, debate, mourning and learning.

Showing up differently

our ‘not so’, common approach to all our projects

• Although all our projects are unique to the context and issue they are addressing – a common approach underpins each of them – ‘Showing up differently’
• Through this process we work alongside communities and organisations to identify issues, engage with others, co-design possible ideas, then test and fine-tune to develop unique solutions

whanonga pono | our values

We are guided by our values of mana ōrite, kotahitanga and manaakitanga. These values inform every project we engage in and are reflected in how we work and our commitment to Showing up Differently.

mana ōrite

Fighting for equitable access and outcomes

• We actively support rangatiratanga and self-determination for Tangata whenua
• We amplify marginalised voices for advocacy to provoke system change
• We respect and value the unique identity of each person and community in Aotearoa.
• We focus on empowering ‘invisible’ leaders and intentionally ‘flip’ power dynamics to weave the rangatiratanga of all

kotahitanga

finding courage through standing together back to back

• We stand together and are not isolated as we work in complexity
• Through working together we discover solutions that build on everyone’s strengths
• In collaboration with communities and agencies we grow collective impact around shared aspirations

manaakitanga

unconditional care for each other and our partners

• Through whanaungatanga we nurture the hauora and mana of ourselves and others in tangible ways
• We prioritise connections between people across a system: Ko wai au?, Ko wai koe?, Ko wai tatou?
• We host spaces for belonging, meaning and transformation and are committed to the time and intentional focus this requires

whakapapa | who we are

We are intentionally creating space to develop our collective identity which mirrors the equitable communities we seek to develop. 

We acknowledge each individual’s stories, pepeha, whakapapa and as Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti we are actively exploring the synergies we have as Te Tiriti partners. We also stand with leaders who identify with groups that experience discrimination and marginalization because of their identity (ethnicity, gender, ability, sexual identity, age, class etc).