“I have had the privilege of Tīmoti [Empowering Change] undertaking my Principal Appraisal over the course of 2017. The entire process was amazing!

At all times he displayed very high professional standards, ensuring timeframes and deadlines were kept, communication lines were clear and insightful and most importantly for me the flexibility that was provided was paramount to the evolving nature of our work.

His vast experience helped shed light on various ‘situations’ that often popped up and provided me with options on how I could best manage the tasks at hand. He always seemed to have insightful perspectives on my pondering, providing me with perspectives that often I had not thought about and giving me options to explore!

Tīmoti’s ability to listen to the heart of where I was coming from and challenge my thinking is something that has greatly enhanced my professional abilities. The positive influence that he has brought to my practice is something that I am privileged to have been part of and look forward to continuing this journey alongside Tīmoti throughout 2018 and beyond.”

“This approach to Bi-culturalism and leadership is an excellent initiative and a valuable learning exercise”

“Tīmoti has a wonderful way of walking with you, making you feel very safe, and learning all the time without truly being aware. He has an amazing ability to challenge, in a most caring way; which encouraged me to take risks, speak openly and to think at a real heart level about the human implications of our learning”

“Tīmoti brought the session alive with great stories and challenging us.”

“I have had the privilege of knowing Tīmoti since I was a school boy. He was my kapahaka tutor when I was about 8-9 years old. However, at the end of 2016 following an ERO review, we were seeking cultural support for our kura. As a staff we had all of the right intentions in this area for a couple of years, but needed more knowledge and understanding and no one on our staff could bring that confidently. After meeting with 2-3 professional development providers, Tīmoti stood out as the person who really listened to what we wanted and to the approach we wanted to take. He recognised the delicate nature of the learning, and gave us a sense he could deliver this learning in a fun, hands on and empathetic way. He delivered just that to our staff.

2017 was a fantastic year of cultural development and learning for all of our staff. From basic language and tikanga through to culture and the learning of pūrākau/stories, places and people, even treaty negotiations; we surely covered a lot over the year’s sessions. Tīmoti was always prompt, fully prepared and practical with his delivery of content, both guiding and listening to our needs. We are certainly looking forward to continued development alongside Tīmoti this year.”

As we embarked on an exciting new programme for our Leaders at Auckland War Memorial Museum named ‘Te Kahu Manahautu’, it became evident we needed someone with expertise and passion to partner with us on our Bi-cultural understanding and journey. We were introduced to Tīmoti Harris who immediately captured us with his immersion in both the English and Maori worlds. Tīmoti was quickly able to build strong rapport with our manager groups and individuals on our programme. He has earned the respect of all who were at different stages of their cultural journeys by being approachable, caring, sharing his wealth of knowledge, creating a safe place to learn and share, and being a true leader himself. Tīmoti has been a pleasure to work with and is highly organised and planned. He is humble and unassuming but has the gift of ‘weaving the people together’.

Tīmoti Harris is an exemplary professional development presenter. He has an ability to engage participants (of all ages) in high order thinking and meaningful dialogue while using easy-to-understand language. My observations would lead me to conclude that these skills and motivational techniques bring learners into the kaupapa, and beyond. Inevitably they take maximum appreciation from the content that is on offer. Of immense importance though is that he knows his subject matter intimately. Whether in a large conference theatre or a small class on a campus or museum, the essence of sound content is sustained and therefore meaningful learning occurs.

The world has experienced tremendous change over the past two decades, and an authentically commensurate approach for the delivery of educational leadership is needed – one that moves in harmony with the new social direction. Timoti has the potential to shift people’s ideas and philosophies while maintaining calm and acceptable relationships at the local level. Cultural responsiveness is at the heart of his thinking and practice. By way of actions as well as words, he models the Treaty principles of partnership, protection, and participation.

Tīmoti took us on a journey. His stories along with ours, blended the real with the surreal. Through Tīmoti’s poignant teachings we felt our ability to connect with our audiences on matters of the heart and social significance, increase. His challenge to move beyond the messages and the PowerPoint, to the very heart of our vision for a better start for all NZ children, has been taken up and changes are already being enacted.
Kia ora koe Tīmoti.

“Enlightening, empowering, challenging, thoughtful – it covered all bases.”