WE ARE
We are a growing community of diverse professionals.
Each sharing a passion for continual learning, connection and the value of different perspectives.
We strive to help each other’s development, as peers, to reduce the increasing isolation of modern work life
and improve our ability to engage effectively with the evolving rich diversity of our workplaces.
We each see our development as the intersection of who we are, what we do, why it matters and importantly, how we do it.
We share a commitment to regular shared mindful reflection on our different developmental questions, goals and experiences.
We aim to generate new wisdom, by experimenting with different ways of being that access
the collective intelligence of the whole community.
Along the way, we seek to develop our character and capability to more effectively relate to our ever changing worlds.
Our Guides
Bernie White
For over 20 years I’ve worked as a facilitator, coach, advisor and teacher.
I’ve always been fascinated by the human condition and the unfolding of potential. Seen so clearly in children, and possible throughout all our lives. Our capacity to imagine new possibilities and collectively – create and recreate, invent and reinvent – new futures for ourselves and others. My intention with Wiser is to create a trustful space for reflective conversations grounded in each other’s experiences of doing their work. Amidst all the opportunities and challenges of our complex, always changing world. I hope it’s a conversation that enrichs each other’s developmental journey. Enlivens our collective human spirit and creativity. And, in the words of David Whyte, allows our work to be a ‘pilgrimage of identity’. My whakapapa is ngati Celtic, but I grew up in Aotearoa New Zealand. I Iive with my wife in Pōneke Wellington and watch my four children make their beautiful way in the world.
Travis Wallach
I firmly believe that the more we learn, the more there is to discover.
I’m captivated by our beliefs about ourselves and the world, especially their limits in describing our experience. I’m drawn to the unknown and those brave supported moments of awe where we step beyond what we ‘know’ to uncover new insight. Over the past few decades I’ve been that support for many brave leaders. Integrating my background in psychology, leadership and contemplative practice to help leaders grow awareness, embrace their ‘unknown’ and find deeper meaning in their working lives. Here at Wiser, my aim is to co-create a meaningful space where our diverse community wisdom brings new discoveries and new friends. I live here in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington with my large lively whānau. Amid life’s rich chaos, I seek solace in meditation, music, art, our local hills and good convo. When the sea is calm you’ll find me underwater, dressed in rubber, appreciatively in search of delicious yet elusive kaimoana.
WE VALUE
TRUTH
Curiosity and courage
to look beneath the surface
DIVERSITY
Valuing different perspectives to
see beyond our individual limitations
COMPASSION
Deep empathic action that
supports our vulnerabilities and strengths
WE MEET
For two hours, monthly in-person, here in Wellington.
We connect as a community, and in peer groups of three, we:
(1) Explore our own development over the month;
(2) Make sense of our experiences, from diverse perspectives;
(3) Strive to discover richer, more whole perspectives;
(4) Discern and commit to developmental intentions for the coming month;
AND
(5) Reflect on how we’re connecting as diverse individuals.
We aim to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our work, by challenging old patterns, uncovering hidden insights and experimenting with new possibilities.
Together we build our capacity to be wise reflective professionals,
able to make sense and learn from every new experience.
Together, becoming Wiser.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I have begun to change myself”
Rumi