A Wild Vision to Improve Our World One Workplace at a Time.

Tracey Soffe is on a mission to enhance workplace culture, empower leaders and turn the meaning of HR on its head. “I have this big wild vision and it’s to improve our world one workplace at a time.”

The Taranaki woman is doing just that. After 13 years working for others in human resources (HR), Tracey felt inspired to start her own business, Trace Consulting, focusing on building culture, unlocking leadership potential and creating true connection in teams.

“I’m asking people to be incredibly vulnerable… and I can’t do that under anyone else’s brand but my own,” she says. “Through my time as an HR consultant, I really fell in love with leadership development and organisational culture; I’d go as far as to say that this is my life's purpose. I love what I do, I love my job, and I want to empower people to do the same.”

She also has a different way of viewing HR. “The term Human Resources has never sat well with me. Humans shouldn’t be seen as resources; it’s quite the opposite. To me, it’s about resourcing humans. How do we resource our humans with the skills, knowledge and environment to succeed?”

Her workshops and leadership coaching focus on the people she works with –who they are, their mindset and strengths. “I get to help leaders and business owners focus on the human aspect of their organisation. The people. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.”

Tracey’s approach to leadership is holistic, based on empathy, self-awareness and shared understanding. “Holistic in my view means taking a whole person approach to

coaching, leadership and helping business owners to see their people as ‘whole’.”

That philosophy stems from her learnings, her whakapapa – Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama – and a growing connection to te ao Māori. “These are practices that show up in how I facilitate; how I hold the space for people.”

As Tracey talks of improving workplaces, the word “culture” comes up repeatedly. “Culture has eight times more impact on performance than strategy alone. You can’t outperform a poor culture.”

Trace Consulting offers leadership programmes, team effectiveness workshops, coaching and values-based sessions tailored to each client - “I meet people where they’re at and I take them on the journey that they need to go on.”

A big part of that journey is understanding the individual. “Leadership… comes down to the ability to step into who you are.”

She starts by helping people define their values. “For some people it’s the first time they’re sitting down to figure out what matters most, and this is often when breakthroughs happen.”

Doing this, one business leader discovered a conflict between her two core values: family and career. “Identifying and naming these values gave her the permission that she can have both… for her, creating strong boundaries was the only way she was going to be able to meet those needs.”

Tracey uses practical but powerful tools, including the Team Management Profile to help groups find strengths and understand each other’s preferences, which can transform the dynamics of a workplace.

When team members think and operate differently, conflict can arise. By bringing teams together to understand these differences, they can move through the conflict and become a more effective and functional team.

Tracey coaches senior leaders, business owners and executives one-on-one, helping them to think differently and embrace growth.

When people engage in coaching, they're ultimately saying, ‘How can I do things differently? How can I be better?’ "Success looks different for everyone, but a recurring theme I see is that when people invest in their professional growth, it leads to positive changes in their personal lives, and for me, this is the ultimate measure of success.

Tracey's approach to uplifting leaders and workplaces is fuelled by passion, backed by expert knowledge and a drive to keep learning. She’s forever reading, listening to podcasts and seeking fresh information about her field.

This year, she will be offering bite-sized leadership workshops and a new cohortbased Leadership Development Programme launching this July. The latter includes six full-day workshops, three one-on-one coaching sessions and a personalised selfassessment to identify leadership strengths and working styles.

Tracey is on a mission to help leaders and workplaces thrive. “I just want people to live in joy, and my goal is to help people achieve this at work.”

The Taranaki woman is doing just that. After 13 years working for others in human resources (HR), Tracey felt inspired to start her own business, Trace Consulting, focusing on building culture, unlocking leadership potential and creating true connection in teams.

Contact Tracey 027 635 4448 or hello@traceconsulting.co.nz