Carolyn Smith

Kia ora, I’m Carolyn Smith

I’m the founder of Woven Collaboration.

You may have an important decision that keeps being revisited without being resolved. 

Plenty of ideas and activity, but no shared view of what matters most. 

A plan that needs to be developed, but concern that it could become another document nobody acts on. 

Or several teams, organisations or stakeholders who need to move forward together but are pulling in different directions.

These situations do more than create frustrating meetings. They consume valuable time, delay progress and increase the risk that limited resources are invested in the wrong priorities or plans that fail to deliver.

That is where I can help.

I design and facilitate tailored processes that help people get beneath the surface, bring different perspectives into the conversation and build agreement about what matters and what needs to happen next.

Through my Path to Progress approach, I help organisations turn important decisions, ideas and plans into a clear, practical pathway that people understand, support and are committed to acting on.

The name Woven Collaboration reflects my belief that bringing together different strengths, knowledge and experiences creates something stronger.

It's inspired by the Māori whakataukī/proverb:

“Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.”
With your food basket and mine, the people will thrive.

It speaks to the value of bringing together our different strengths, knowledge and experiences to create something greater. I also draw inspiration from the way many individual strands can be woven into a strong rope.

If something important needs to move forward, but your people have not yet reached the clarity, agreement or commitment needed to make it happen, let’s talk.

Get to the heart of it. Build agreement. Shape the path forward.

My background

I bring more than 30 years’ experience in facilitation, strategy, collaboration, leadership and engagement. 

Before establishing Woven Collaboration, I held leadership roles in major environmental and cross-agency programmes, including Predator Free 2050 and Jobs for Nature. This gave me extensive experience in bringing people from different teams, organisations and sectors together to work through important issues and create a shared way forward.

I am a trained and accredited facilitator, mediator, and strategist, with qualifications from Massey University, the University of Canterbury and the Resolution Institute. I am also trained in public participation design through IAP2 and an accredited member of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand.

Giving back

Contributing to my community is important to me. I volunteer as an impact coach for school principals through Springboard Trust and mentor emerging community leaders through Volunteering Northland and Mentoring NZ. I also support women in business through OneUpOneDown, serve as a trustee of Whangārei Festivals Trust and help with events at OneOneSix, a community venue in Whangārei.

Outside work

When I’m not working, you’ll usually find me spending time with whānau and friends, exploring beautiful places and enjoying the outdoors.

If your organisation needs to get beneath the surface of an important issue, build agreement and create a clear pathway forward, I’d be happy to talk.

Get to the heart of it. Build agreement. Shape the path forward.

Mauri ora
Carolyn