The local government sector is facing a great deal of change and uncertainty. To support council chief executives and senior staff, we have partnered with Tūhura Partners to establish Hei Taituarā – a niche practice and executive support service for the local government sector.
Local government leadership is front and centre of change, and our aim is to ensure leadership is well supported, and councils have the trust, credibility and strength to lead their communities – whatever the outcome.
In te reo Māori tūhura means to 'discover, explore, bring to light'. With the support or backbone of Taituarā combined with the discovery of Tūhura, we bring a strength and understanding to the issues facing the sector.
Our kaupapa
Our key areas of support are focused on, but not limited to:
- Mentoring – personalised support to confidently and competently deal with critical issues, sharpen focus, build resilience and achieve desired results.
- Rapid response – trusted short-term support and advice in times of crisis, emergency, or when immediate support is required.
- Interim executive placement – interim senior leadership support to ensure continuity during periods of upheaval, to fill critical skills gaps, oversee key projects, or to temporarily fill a vacant position.
- Sector reform – transition support and training in preparation for the reform programmes (Water, RMA, Future for Local Government) bringing understanding, enlightenment, discovery and enhancing organisational strength and performance.
We have access to a pool of talented, committed and experienced practitioners enabling us to provide help and support when it is needed.
Our focus is on supporting chief executives and senior staff through challenging times, providing clarity around key issues, and providing support to see problems through.
What Hei Taituarā clients say
The Hei Taituarā team has already supported a number of projects in the sector including helping Ōtorohanga District Council, Aotearoa’s ninth smallest territorial authority with 54 staff serving a population of 10,000, to respond to the Three Waters RFI request and contribute to the Waikato/Bay of Plenty consortium while putting together an ambitious long-term plan.
Ōtorohanga Chief Executive, Tanya Winter, said that she has an exceptional team, but they can’t do everything, and she isn’t afraid to reach out for support.
“Hei Taituarā worked alongside my team, helping to interpret many and varied requests, pulling thoughts together and providing technical expertise. They recognise the individual differences between councils and were able to draw on skills from other councils in the region.
“They bring immense experience, but also hard-earned reputations, strategic thinking and a passion for the sector.”
Blair Bowcott, General Manager of Growth at Hamilton City Council, agrees that sector experience is essential and has worked with Hei Taituarā on a couple of assignments, including a transformative approach to delivering shared services, and a three waters assignment.
“We are all really busy and dealing with complex information at pace. We need to be able to access trusted advisors with a deep understanding of our business.
“The Hei Taituarā team understand the pressures and political environment we operate in. They speak our language, and really helped us to think about things differently.”
Contact
For more information about Hei Taituarā please email Seán Mahoney, General Manager, Sector Performance or ring him on (04) 978 1280.