workforce
Lifeblood of care
The key role of mentoring in developing the
next generation of aged care leaders.
By Samantha Bowen
Workforce is the lifeblood of care and our people
are the nexus of thriving, meaningful relationships
between older Australians, their families and friends.
It flows through the generations, particularly as we work to
protect and support our elders, their families, communities and
our passionate colleagues from the coronavirus pandemic.
Enabling and inspiring capable leaders who can highlight
opportunities within our current workplace challenges is vital,
because the pillars they can provide our staff can help us
overcome today’s increasing pressures.
Attracting and retaining talented people has been further
complicated by COVID-19, but the need to meet and exceed
community expectations remains a priority set against a backdrop
of changing regulations, standards and legislation.
Critical to advancing leadership is providing opportunities for
staff to learn by example and through personal support.
Mentoring has given me an avenue to expand my understanding
of the age services industry and how I fit into it.
I have had support to learn about different careers, spoken to
people about the challenges they have experienced and learnt
there is so much positivity happening around us, despite some
negative media coverage.
Mentoring has been a fantastic opportunity to sit with someone
to reflect on my experiences, learn from the insights of others and
find resources I never knew existed.
While many organisations are working hard to promote leaders,
their mentoring activities may be limited to internal leadership
networks. These are not always visible to a wider range of talented
staff and are often not promoted effectively or widely, resulting in
deserving employees missing out on professional development
opportunities that help them excel and lead with confidence.
The rapidly changing and evolving environment challenges the
organisation, its leaders and staff.
Growing and cultivating trust with employees fosters their
growth and development but during challenging periods, there is
limited time available within management and teams to support
and monitor mentoring outcomes.
When I started as a mentee, I had some positive experiences,
with some of my mentors still providing advice and support
years on.
While I was taught a lot, I screwed up (a lot) but through this, I
learnt the value of the lessons my mentors shared – the good and
the bad.
I don’t necessarily want people to go through those negative
experiences and say ‘mentoring is not for them’. I wished there
was a resource that provided guidance. Often all I found were
programs that provided a mentoring match and left you to figure it
out alone. It left me feeling uninspired and afraid to make mistakes
in front of others.
As I persevered, I learnt that you can reflect and learn from
negative mentoring experiences, such as:
• Anxiety can be normal and seek help if it becomes
overwhelming
• Value yourself and don’t be used solely as a free source of
labour
• Believe in yourself and don’t be intimidated by executives and
industry leaders reaching out. They truly want to help!
Meanwhile, I also developed what are shaping up as
lifelong friendships, where we have ended up mentoring
each other.
While there are myriad personal benefits, the advantages for
organisations are undoubtedly significant.
It can help managers recognise who is engaged and ripe
for more development opportunities, while expanding their
professional network and bringing innovation and best-practice
techniques into the workplace.
There is growing evidence mentoring can help employees more
readily adapt to change.
It can also streamline leadership succession planning at
many levels, while providing support to talented staff during
difficult times.
In a broader sense, mentoring can help leaders transcend
organisational boundaries and promote leadership confidence
across age services. Inspiring people to see our industry as a long
term, life-changing career.
My three mentoring tips for organisations and leaders are:
• Ensure staff have mentoring roles modelled by managers,
executives and board directors through conversations, sharing
examples and more.
• Use structured programs to support better mentoring practices.
• Mandating outcomes is unwise. Putting someone forward and
saying ‘we believe in you’ and we want you to set your own
goals is a recipe for success.
The LASA Mentoring Program is a resource that supports
mentees to dive into mentoring with intent, support, online
resources and so much more. It definitely won’t leave you to
figure it out alone.
Find out more about mentoring and how this program can
support your organisation’s current and emerging leaders at
[email protected]. ■
Samantha Bowen is the LASA Next Gen principal adviser.
28 agedcareinsite.com.au