Your Guide, Cleo Shortland

My whakapapa, who I am

My people are Ngāti Hine, Ngaariki Kaiputahi and Ngāti Porou of the Far North and East Coast of Aotearoa New Zealand. I also have roots in the South of England.

My Māori ancestors arrived by waka, Ngatokimatawhaorua and Nga Ika Nui a Raura. My English ancestors by ship in 1846, not long after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, two cultures coming together.

Whakapapa is how I understand my place in the world and how I understand my work. When I sit with you at a threshold, I'm drawing on a worldview that is relational, cyclical, and rooted in place. Something I was born into and have spent my life learning.

A woman with long curly hair writing in a notebook with a pen, sitting at a reflective black table with books, a laptop, and papers, in a room with gray curtains.
A woman with long curly hair writing in a notebook with a pen, sitting at a reflective black table with books, a laptop, and papers, in a room with gray curtains.

My story, and a glimpse into my style

I left my role as Business Manager of a legal firm to start my first business, helping established and startup businesses navigate imposed law changes with impacts on their industry. The solutions I helped build involved changes within top decision makers, operations and front of house, so there was also opportunity to build more trusted relationships with the customer and the market. Non-compliance resulted in fines in the millions and reputational impacts so there was a lot at stake.

I took my last savings and invested in myself. My loved ones were loud in their concern and I heard them but did not stop. In time, they came to rally behind me. It worked. I carved out a corner of the market that played directly to what I cared about and what I was genuinely good at.

Over time, something else started emerging. I found myself hosting gatherings, creating the most beautiful spaces to guide myself and others in ritual to push past the barriers between them and what they truly wanted and needed. And I was now working with those leading the work rather than the businesses they had built. That pull became Wā. My life’s work.

I'm also a mum, a Māori and French language learner, a risk taker, and borderline delusional in my own visions until they morph into my new lived reality. My job is to trust that: to know when to be tough, when to be soft, when to pause, and when to drive action forward.

If this is your moment, I love a good chat, so do book a curiosity call. I'm already excited to meet you.

Mauri ora, Cleo