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About Whakawhitinga

Whakawhitinga is a consulting partnership anchored in Māori values, designed to improve outcomes for whānau and communities by championing diverse and inclusive leadership across Aotearoa.

As a partnership, we see our role as supporting and uplifting internal capabilities so that our clients create the habits and practices to sustain important mahi long after we have finished our work together. We are highly skilled at building engagement and alignment that enables organisations to execute their strategic intent and achieve their goals. 

Whakawhitinga holds the sense of a journey—a transition or crossing to a new way of knowing. Through partnership and accountability, people and connections, and a focus on future-fit progression, we see our work as an experience that will serve the people and place in which we collectively operate.

The logo shows the poutama pattern, known as the stairway to heaven in Māori weaving. Poutama has strong educational and spiritual significance. The stepping pattern represents progression and ascent to higher levels of achievement and progress, as well as the constant pursuit of improvement.

Together, these tell the story of who we are and what we aspire to achieve.


Our Values

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Partnership and Accountability

This means we:

  • Get to know your organisation and your people deeply, and see ourselves as a temporal extension of your team

  • Develop trusted and enduring relationships

  • Bring our authentic selves and our human journey to all interactions

  • Foster connections and seek our diverse perspectives to test our thinking

  • Are committed to delivering quality outcomes and we hold ourselves accountable to our promises.

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People and Connections

This means we:

  • Put people before position or process

  • Choose work and partnership opportunities where we genuinely love our mahi and can clearly see the connection to people and place

  • Care for each other and show manaaki, celebrating the moments that matter

  • Actively manage our energy and pace to be at our best and bring our best selves to our work

  • Lead with vulnerability and empathy, asking for and offering help.

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Future-Fit Progression

This means we:

  • Will choose long-term, sustainable benefits over short-term wins

  • Test, refine, and progress (on repeat)

  • Adapt to changing markets and what’s required for future-proofing our initiatives

  • Stay across leading market research in our areas of expertise to bring the latest thinking to our work

  • Will advocate and challenge you to further your goals and stretch your thinking.

  • "We put people before position or process. Because that's where true transformation takes place."

    Whakawhitinga Value Statement

  • "Future-fit progression matters to us. This means we will choose long-term, sustainable benefits over short-term wins."

    Whakawhitinga Value Statement

  • "We believe that better results emerge when different viewpoints are considered - when people connect and truly understand each other."

    Whakawhitinga Value Statement

  • "We don't do things at you, but with you. We see ourselves as an extension of your team for a moment in time."

    Whakawhitinga Value Statement

Get in touch

Often it’s easier to talk through your project or opportunity directly. Please feel free to get in touch. We’d love the opportunity to explore your current project and look forward to hearing from you.