Strategic planning prompts informed by a bicultural commitment

Focus

Reflection · Decision-making · Leadership

Ideal for

Leaders working in complex, partnership-based environments

Type

Practice prompts

Time

This page offers orientation, not authority. Mātauranga Māori sits with Māori.

The prompts here are not a substitute for Māori leadership, expertise, or lived knowledge.

All leadership decisions affect Māori communities. Responsibility includes seeking appropriate guidance, partnership, and expertise where decisions touch Māori people, kaupapa, or whenua.

These prompts are offered in the spirit of respectful learning. Inspired by the Mātauranga Māori Workplace Guidance Handbook (Te Mahi Ako, 2024), Te Tiriti principles, and publicly available Te Tiriti-based frameworks.

Learning is ongoing.

When in doubt, reach out.

How to use this page

These prompts are offered as ways of widening view. Noticing relationship. Seeing consequence and continuity.

This page is for moments when you have headspace to think. Before pressure hits, after a decision has landed, between waves of mahi.

You don’t need to answer everything.

Pick a section.

Spend 10–15 minutes.

Then pause.

1. Grounding and orientation

Prompts that help you reconnect to what you’re standing on before acting.

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Use this section when clarifying direction, intent, or the foundations beneath a piece of work.

What this helps you do

ground decisions in identity and kaupapa
notice drift before it becomes misalignment
reconnect planning to longer horizons

2. Relationship and impact

Prompts that help you see who is affected and how work lands on people.

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Use this section when thinking about workforce, partners, communities, or ways of working.

What this helps you do

notice whose voices are shaping direction
see where partnership is real and where it is assumed
understand impact beyond formal roles or reporting lines

3. Stewardship and future consequence

Prompts that help you look beyond immediate outcomes.

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Use this section when decisions will carry long-term implications.

What this helps you do

test plans against time, not urgency
notice what is being protected or eroded
make stewardship visible in everyday decisions

Closing

You don’t need to use every prompt.

Notice what shifts your view.

Make one or two sound adjustments you can stand behind.

Then return to the work in front of you.

Back to the mahi.

Using this in practice

If you’d like to work with these prompts directly in editable templates, they’re available inside the Capability Companion workspace.

You can explore the Companion, or subscribe when it’s useful to have the tools on hand.

Enter the workspace

Concept	Planning prompt	Notes
Mauri tū	How are we grounded in our identity, kaupapa, and direction?
Mauri oho	What shifts, energy, or awakenings are happening inside or around us?
Mauri ora	What kind of future are we stepping into, and what would help people thrive within it?
Te Tiriti	How are we planning with Māori partners, not just for Māori needs?
	How are Māori voices actively shaping our direction or strategy?
	How are we mindful of protecting mātauranga Māori, reo, and tikanga?

Concept	Planning prompt	Notes
Mauri tū	How are we grounded in our identity, kaupapa, and team culture?
Mauri oho	What changes, needs, or sparks are emerging in our workforce?
Mauri ora	What kind of future are we building with our people, and how does it feel to be part of it now?
Te Tiriti	How are we supporting Māori leadership and participation today?
	How are reo, tikanga, and cultural wellbeing being protected?
	How are Māori perspectives shaping recruitment, development, and direction?

Concept	Planning prompt	Notes
Mauri tū	What relationships or partnerships are we standing on in this work?
Mauri oho	What shifts, expectations, or tensions are emerging with partners or communities right now?
Mauri ora	How does this work support the wellbeing and long-term flourishing of whānau and communities?
Te Tiriti	Where are Māori partners, iwi, hapū, or communities involved in shaping decisions, not just receiving outcomes?
	How are we honouring partnership, trust, and shared authority in practice?
	What commitments or expectations are we creating beyond this organisation?

Concept	Planning prompt	Notes
Mauri tū	What foundations of identity or kaupapa should shape our future workforce?
Mauri oho	What shifts, aspirations, or stories are emerging?
Mauri ora	How might we design a workforce that thrives, not just functions?
Te Tiriti	How could Māori leadership and participation be strengthened in future roles?
	How might reo, tikanga, and cultural wellbeing be recognised and supported?
	How might Māori perspectives meaningfully shape future direction?

Concept	Planning prompt	Notes
Mauri tū	What continues after this decision is made, and who will carry it?
Mauri oho	What future consequences or risks are starting to surface or become visible?
Mauri ora	What would we want to stand behind in five years’ time, because it supported people to thrive?
Te Tiriti	Who carries the cost if this decision does not hold, and how are Māori affected?

Strategic planning prompts informed by a bicultural commitment

How to use this page

1. Grounding and orientation

2. Relationship and impact

Current workforce and ways of working

Partners, communities, and whānau

Future workforce and capability design

3. Stewardship and future consequence

Stewardship and responsibility

Anchoring future plans in values

Closing