Dr Matt Slavin · Auckland & New Zealand · Performance Psychology
Leadership & Performance Consulting
A thinking partner for leaders, organisations and creative teams navigating people challenges, performance, and the human side of how work gets done.
Formats · Project Based · Flexible Scope
Sectors · Business · Creative industries · People & Culture
Location · Auckland · Nationwide · Online
THE WORK
What consulting with me looks like
Sometimes what's needed isn't a workshop or development session. It's a psychologically informed conversation with someone who understands people - how they think, why they behave the way they do under pressure, and what organisations can do about it.
I work with leaders, founders, HR teams and creative producers as a consultant and thinking partner: bringing psychological expertise into the room to help make sense of people issues, performance challenges and team dynamics.
Engagements are project-based and scoped to what you actually need - a single session, a short advisory relationship, or ongoing input over time.
AREAS OF WORK
What I’m brought in for
People & CultureWorkplace mental health & performance
Consulting for HR and People leads on psychological wellbeing, burnout, performance culture and how to build environments where people actually thrive.
OrganisationTeam development and culture
Helping organisations understand what's happening beneath the surface and what psychological principles can do for team cohesion, communication and sustainable performance.
LeadershipPeople issues & team dynamics
Working through difficult people situations, team dysfunction, culture concerns, or leadership challenges with a psychologist in the room.
Sport & PerformanceHigh-performance athletes & coaches
Helping athletes and coaches build the mental systems needed for high-performance. From focus and confidence to mental health, communication and team culture - translating psychology into consistent, high-level performance.
Individual PerformanceHigh-performing professionals
Working 1:1 with individuals navigating pressure, stress, or transition, building clarity, emotional control, and a way of performing that is both effective and sustainable.
Creative IndustriesTV, film, theatre and media consulting
Helping creative teams navigate the human side of storytelling. Providing expertise on psychologically informed storytelling, sensitive subject matter, and the translation of complex human experiences into authentic narratives.
WHO THIS IS FOR
The people I work with
You don't need to have a crisis to benefit from having a psychologist in your corner. The most useful consulting relationships often start simply, someone who wanted a clearer way of thinking about a people challenge, a cultural shift they couldn't quite name, or a team situation that wasn't resolving itself.
HOW IT WORKS
What to expect
01 An initial conversation
We start with a conversation about what you're navigating. I want to understand what's actually going on before suggesting how I can help.
02 Scoped to what you need
Consulting can look like a single deep-dive session, a short advisory project, or an ongoing relationship. We agree the shape of it together based on what's most useful.
03 Psychological expertise, applied practically
I bring clinical and performance psychology into the work with a practical lens for making better decisions about people, culture and performance.
04 In person or online
I'm based in Auckland and work with organisations across New Zealand and remotely (excluding USA and Canada). Consulting sessions can be in person or via video, whatever works best for the engagement.
What People Say
"I really appreciated Matt's knowledge, professionalism, pace and grounded humility."
"Matt inspired confidence and backed up what I believed with science, history and humanity."
"Matt's facilitation style was clear, well-paced and thoughtful. I appreciated his calmness and attentiveness."
Let’s talk about what you need
Every consulting engagement starts with a conversation. Get in touch and tell me a little about what you're working through. I'll come back to you within a couple of days.
FAQs
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We've never worked with a psychologist in this capacity before, what should we expect?
1
Most people haven't, and that's fine. In practice it feels less like bringing in a clinician and more like having a genuinely insightful thinking partner who happens to understand people at a deeper level than most. I don't use jargon, I don't pathologise, and I don't turn every conversation into a therapy session. What I do is bring psychological clarity to situations that are often murkier than they need to be - people dynamics, pressure, performance, culture - and help you think and act more effectively as a result.
What does a consulting engagement actually look like day-to-day?
2
It depends entirely on what you need. Some engagements are a single deep-dive conversation - a founder working through a difficult people decision, or a coach wanting psychological input on their athlete’s performance. Others are more ongoing: regular advisory sessions, being available as a sounding board, or providing input across a specific project or period of change. We agree the shape of it together at the start, and it can evolve as the work develops.
How is this different from executive coaching?
3
Executive coaching typically focuses on goals, performance and forward movement and it's often delivered by people without formal clinical training. As a clinical psychologist, I can go significantly deeper. I understand how pressure, history, attachment, trauma and nervous system responses shape behaviour and I can work with those things directly, not just around them. In practice the work can look similar on the surface, but the depth and range of what I can hold is different.
How is this different from hiring an HR consultant?
4
HR consulting tends to focus on process, policy, structure and compliance. What I bring is a psychological lens - an understanding of why people behave the way they do, what's driving team dynamics beneath the surface, and how to shift patterns that aren't serving the organisation. I'm not here to write your people policies. I'm here to help you understand your people and make better decisions as a result.
8
Can you work with our whole leadership team, not just one person?
Do you sign NDAs & how confidential is it?
What does it cost and how is it structured?
How do we know if we need consulting vs a workshop?
5
A workshop works well when you want to shift thinking and build skills across a team - it's broad, experiential and creates shared language. Consulting is better when you're navigating something specific: a people challenge, a culture issue, a leadership decision, a team dynamic that isn't resolving. Sometimes both make sense at different points. If you're unsure, get in touch and we can talk it through. I'll give you an honest view on what would actually be most useful.
Yes. Consulting can involve working with an individual leader, a leadership team, or both simultaneously - whatever makes most sense for what you're navigating. Working at the team level often surfaces things that individual work alone can't reach, and vice versa. We can scope that together once I understand the situation.
Confidentiality is fundamental to how I work. I'm bound by professional ethical standards as a registered clinical psychologist, which means what's discussed stays within the engagement. I'm also happy to sign an NDA if your organisation requires it. Sensitive information about your people, your culture or your internal challenges won't go anywhere.
Consulting is priced based on the scope, frequency and nature of the engagement rather than a fixed hourly rate. Some projects are better structured as a retainer, others as a day rate or per-session fee. Get in touch with a sense of what you're working on and I'll put together a clear proposal. There's no obligation from an initial conversation.