Kia ora, I’m Rebbecca Sweeney
Leadership Coach
I love seeing people grow, collaborate successfully and have a positive impact on the lives of those around them.
With insight, humour and honesty, I work alongside you to develop strong leadership capability, build great teams and enable an equitable culture of growth in your organisation.
The official bits
Diploma in Te Aupikitanga ki te Reo Kairangi (Level 6 Advanced Full Immersion), Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Partial completion in 2022
Te Hapūtanga o te Reo: Te Rōnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi (Level 5), Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Executive and Organisational Coaching Certificate, International Coaching Federation
ACC Accredited
Master of Education (2nd Class Hons)
My thesis explored collaborative practices among leaders in networks of schools
Like many, my own career trajectory didn’t start out linear - but neither was my path to learning. The environment I experienced as a young learner wasn’t one that acknowledged or supported the adversities of my own childhood. School felt like it wasn’t a place where someone like me belonged.
Which is where my drive to support learners - especially the kids like me - came from. I wanted to influence a world where heritage, culture, and less traditional ways of learning can be recognised, embraced and honoured. Where bias and assumption are removed, creating space for leaders and educators to enable equity for all.
My Master of Education research closely examined how adult learners collaborate. I went deep into study on leadership, and with this strong theoretical knowledge behind me, have spent many years supporting leaders in the education sector as a Ministry of Education accredited facilitator. I’ve been able to disrupt how people think about leadership, teamwork and teacher inquiry, and play a role in changing how educators work with children facing challenging circumstances in their lives. My particular knowledge of the Spiral of Inquiry has seen me become Aotearoa’s network lead for The Networks of Inquiry and Indigenous Education (NOIIE), which is also representative of my driving desire to work as an ally alongside Māori in Aotearoa.
Now I’m supporting leaders beyond the classroom across business and governmental organisations to build great teams and workplace culture.
My warm approach shows it’s possible to be challenged, to confront difficult conversations and to reflect deeply while feeling supported, vulnerable and heard.
Exploring the tohu
At the heart of my kaupapa is a desire to influence an Aotearoa with equitable biculturalism. Designed by Ariki Creative, this beautiful green kete represents one of the three kete brought down by Tāne from the 12 Rangi (realms beyond the earthly realm). That kete is called Te Kete Aronui - which held all the knowledge that could help humankind, acquired through careful observation of the environment.
As a coach and mentor, I support people to observe themselves and others around them, and their environment, to then make decisions about how to move forward or improve. This is also true for the work I do with the Spiral of Inquiry.
Elements of weaving in this beautiful tohu represent themes of hononga (connection) and whakapapa. This aligns to what I value in my practice - building relationships and connections with others.
Of particular importance to me in my work is acknowledging, honouring and respecting the centrality of whakapapa in Māori ways of knowing and doing.
The spiral within and above the kete represents the relationship between tangata whenua and tauiwi (non-indigenous), symbolising my commitment to working as an ally. I recognise that Māori are working on their own decolonisation journey and as Pākehā I am undertaking a separate process for myself and my tauiwi peers. The spiral also represents the continuous learning that people do throughout their lives. I'm still learning about the best ways to do things, too.
Karapipiti
Tēnā koutou katoa
Me he kāhu au, ka hārō ki te tiketiketanga o Kahura-anake te maunga paratū o te rohe i whānau mai ahau.
Ka mātakitaki iho aku whatu ki te pōrutu o Waimārama moana te wai e pipī ana.
Ka kimo aku whatu ki te tārutu o Tukituki awa te wai whēteketeke. I tipu ake ahau ki ngā tahataha o Tukituki.
Nō Aerani ōku tīpuna. I tae mai ōku tīpuna ki Aotearoa i te tau kotahi mano, e waru rau, e ono tekau. Ko Lord Burleigh te kaipuke o ōku tīpuna.
E mihi ana au ki te mana o te whenua haumako o Ngāti Kahungunu, ki te ūkaipō o Heretaunga i whāngai nei i a au.
Ka mihi hoki au ki a Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu me ngā tohu whenua o Hauraki.
Kei te noho ahau ki raro i te maru o Aoraki. E mihi ana ki ngā tohu o nehe, o Ōtautahi e noho nei au.
If I was a hawk, I would soar to the great heights of Kahuraanake, the lofty, where I was born.
My eyes watch down on the breaking sea of Waimarama, the gushing seas.
My eyes blink at the waters pouring forth from Tukituki, the rippling waters. I grew up on the banks of Tukituki.
My ancestors are from Ireland. They arrived in Aotearoa in 1860. Lord Burleigh is the ship of my ancestors.
I acknowledge the authority of the fertile lands of Ngāti Kahungunu, and the source of sustenance, Heretaunga that nurtured me.
I also acknowledge the people of Ngāti Rahiri Tumutumu and the land marks of Hauraki.
I am living under the shelter of Aoraki. I recognise the ancestral and spiritual landmarks of Ōtautahi where I live.
So, how about it?
Get in touch to book a complimentary discovery call to find out more about my approach and how I can support you or your organisation.