Why work with me?
Ending poverty, inequality and climate change are ambitions we all strive for. To do so requires collaboration between government, private sector and community. And collaboration begins and ends with people.
I help people and organisations build the soft and hard skills needed for effective and meaningful collaboration.
The how
Empathetic
Empathy is the key to any successful relationship because it provides a level of depth and meaning that inspires all parties towards shared success. Cultivating empathy, along with teaching partnership best practices, is at the core of my work.
Proficient
There is rigour to the work. Effective and meaningful collaboration takes effort. Managing individual preferences, embracing differences, and facilitating shared purpose is hard, but not impossible. I help uncover the promise of collaboration by teaching the necessary hard and soft skills.
Equitable
Equity recognises that not every partner begins in the same place. I enable collaborations to work more equitably by understanding each party’s inherent differences. I work to remove barriers so everyone has a seat at the table.
Activated
Ultimately, I’m here to help address climate change, mental health and inequality. I care about the future my son will inherit. Collaboration is the missing ‘how’. It’s never been more critical for organisations to work effectively across sectors to solve complex challenges. I aim to transform how people and organisations work together to make change happen.
Why it matters
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 17 calls for partnerships to ‘strengthen the means of implementation’. It is about forming partnerships built upon collaboration.
Effective and meaningful collaboration is globally recognised as essential in creating an equitable society where people and nature can thrive. We need partnerships that draw on diverse expertise, competencies and resources in ways that can, together, achieve better outcomes. The ability to collaborate is therefore an increasingly vital leadership skill.
“We need cross-sector partnerships that work. And strong relationships are what lay the foundation for successful collaboration. Forming those relationships is at the core of my work. I help cultivate partnerships that leverage our human strengths (empathy, openness, curiosity) to accelerate progress on systemic issues in a way that benefits everyone.”
Belinda Gorman
“Competencies that will become increasingly important for public service leaders will include the ability to work collaboratively across organisational boundaries and work effectively through relationship management and influence. We need leaders who have been developed from a very early stage in their career to work in new and different ways to deliver results.”
— NZ Public Service Commission, Leadership Strategy of the State Services
Some of the organisations I’ve worked with include:
Book a free collaboration consultation
To discuss your partnership needs, please get in touch. I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss my approach and how it can help.
I am based in Wellington but work with clients across New Zealand and the world.