Fatherhood, Flexibility and te ao Māori with Tāmati Rimene-Sproat

I'm joined this week by a repeat offender, Tāmati Rimene-Sproat, TV presenter and host of Counting the Beat, who's now 18 months into fatherhood. We first met when Tāmati interviewed me for the show before he'd even had his son, so I wanted him back to talk about what those 18 months have actually been like on the other side.Tāmati is refreshingly honest about the highs and lows: the sleep deprivation, the "no one tells you how hard this actually is" reality, and how quickly it all flies by. We talk about how he and his wife have navigated juggling two careers with unpredictable schedules, why they're determined to build an equal household rather than default into traditional roles, and how a genuinely flexible, empathetic production team gave him the space to be a hands-on dad from day one. Tāmati also shares a beautiful te ao Māori lens on what it means to put people, not productivity, at the centre of how we work, and why that shift would change everything for parents and kids alike.This is a warm, honest, big-hearted conversation about fatherhood, flexibility and what "good" can actually look like when employers lead with empathy.In This Episode, You'll Learn:What surprised Tāmati most about becoming a dad, and why the biggest shock was how fast it all goesHow he and his wife are navigating two unpredictable careers and building an equal householdWhat it looked like when his production company said "don't even ask" to three months at homeWhy Tāmati believes his experience isn't yet the norm, especially for dads asking for flexibilityThe te ao Māori concept of putting people at the centre, and what that could mean for how we all workWhy empathy from employers doesn't just help families, it builds loyalty and lifts productivityTāmati’s magic wand: a system that lets every parent experience what he has, so the motherhood penalty stops falling on mothers aloneResources: Te Whare Tapa Whā is a holistic Māori health model developed by Sir Mason Durie in 1984 that compares wellbeing to a four-walled meeting house. The whakataukī that Tāmati referred to is "Ko te piko o te māhuri, tērā te tupu o te rākau"The way the young sapling is shaped (or bent) determines how the tree will grow Connect with EmmaThis podcast was funded and created by Emma Mclean, the founder of Works for Everyone. Emma Mclean is a mum of three and founder of Works for Everyone, a professional development business that partners with NZ's leading corporates to help them retain and grow their working parent talent. She does this through innovative leadership programmes, executive coaching and keynote speaking. She founded her business in 2019 following a 20-year career in corporate strategy where she experienced first-hand how hard it was to have a career and a family. As an impatient optimist when it comes to system change, she launched her successful podcast "How to Smash the Motherhood Penalty" in 2023 where she talks to humans who are actively working to change the system that creates financial penalties that only mothers pay. And in 2024 she launched the first NZ Part Time Power List, to shine a light on those senior roles in NZ that are career building, not side stepping.To work with Emma or enquire about speaking: emma@worksforeveryone.co.nzwww.worksforeveryone.co.nzhttps://www.instagram.com/worksforeveryone/https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mclean-9176217/