Provider Spotlight ??

We are excited to welcome Roisin Bennett to the Ignite platform as a Mentor! We had the chance to ask her a few questions so you can get to know her better. Check out her responses below ??

Q. Who are you and what do you do?

Kia ora, I'm Roisin (Ro) Bennett and I'm a mentor passionate about hauora Māori, self-leadership and supporting you to realise your full potential.

Q. What do you love most about being a provider on the Ignite Platform?

I love the holistic approach of the Ignite platform. It is proactive and provides you with some much choice to lead your own wellbeing journey. I am really stoked to join the team as a mentor provider.

I’ve had quite a varied career including lecturing in sociology, hauora Māori and youth development. I’ve provided pastoral care to ākonga Māori (Māori students) and lead a Tuākana-Tēina programme within one of our universities. Most recently I’ve delved into the fascinating world of leadership, coaching lower-mid level leaders within one of our largest government departments.

Being part of the Ignite community enables me to bring all of this knowledge and experience to the table when we work together.

You might be someone who is interested in exploring Māori concepts of wellbeing and how you can integrate these into your life.

You might be under the age of 25, looking for support as you build the life of your dreams and reach your goals.

You might be a parent struggling to understand and relate to your teenager.

You might be a leader within your workplace, looking to improve your leadership practice.

Or you might be someone who is really wanting to step into their role as the leader and architect of your own life.

The approach Ignite takes to wellbeing means that through the role of the mentor, I'm able to provide all of this support to you. I'm really excited to embark on this journey.

Q. Are there any particular challenges or themes you have noticed with your clients lately? How do you work with these?

My most recent mahi (work) has seen me working with leaders within one of our largest goverment departments.

The main challenge that kept surfacing was how to show up in alignment to your values and to be authentic in a face-paced, measures driven environment.

I supported these leaders to get really clear on their vision of leadership and values. I would then hold space for them to identify actions they could take to embody this in their mahi. Through reflective exploration we would unpack their wins and challenges, with a key part of my role being to stretch and challenge their thinking, enabling them to engage in critical thinking and decision-making.

Q. Tell us about a big win have had recently!

I taught a 6-week development programme for trainers within the government department i was working within, to support them to take more of an coaching approach to their mahi. One of the participants was sharing with the group about trying a new approach and shared that one of the kaimahi (staff) they were working with made comment about how their practice had changed and that they seemed more energised and happy at work. To hear about the transformative power of this work and the way it was trickling through and impacting kaimahi was a real buzz.

Q. What have you been reading/ listening to/ watching lately that has had a positive impact on your wellbeing?

I have recently finished reading Kāwai: For Such a Time as This by Monty Soutar, which is the first gripping novel of a trilogy. It's based on Soutar's own journey of connecting to his whakapapa and some of the awesome stories of his tīpuna (ancestors). The way Māori lived in harmony with the environment prior to colonisation was really inspiring and is something that I'm actively trying to do more of. It has also driven me to continue my own journey of connecting with my whakapapa and ancestor stories.

The other book I keep rereading and studying is The Language of Emotions by Karla McLaren. Our emotions are our souls way of communicating with us and each of them services a purpose and is trying to tell us things. Learning this language can really support everyone in all aspects of their lives. Karla also has some really great blog posts on her website - https://karlamclaren.com/

Q. What's your favourite way to unwind?

Dance! I love to get lost in the music! I also love connecting with nature, so you'll often find me in the bush or at the beach in my spare time.

Q. Tell us about something exciting on the horizon for you!

I am at the very early stages of building my own private practice. So, lots of mahi is going on behind the scenes at the moment to define my offerings and get all of that set up.

Thanks for letting us get to know you better, Ro! We are so excited to have you on-board and to be a part of the amazing work you do!

Book a session with Roisin via the Ignite Platform today!