April / May / June • Issue 2 • 2019
Mentoring
Having an opportunity to be a mentor and
mentee through AOTA is quite rewarding. We came
together with our own values and goals, and were
able to meld those together, for shared outcomes.
Benefit to members: Members who partake
in Emerging Leaders as a mentee gain insight into
how their organization works. It provides skills and
paths to facilitate projects important to the Mentee,
while also benefiting the organization. This ensures
everyone is on the same path, and constantly refreshes
their goals and progress. Participation cultivates the
planning process for completion of a project that
fulfills a need at a larger level, which can also be
utilized in daily employment on a smaller scale. The
networking opportunities as an Emerging Leader are
endless and continue even after the formal experience
is completed. As a mentee, I was invited to events at
multiple AOTA conferences that I would have never
attended or known about. I was also given support
and opportunities to present at these conferences,
in-person as well as virtually. The resources obtained
from the program are vast and can assist in many
future endeavors and in many organizations. For
example, the leadership training is something both
the mentee and mentor can use in ongoing daily
work life, not just during the mentorship program.
The support a mentee receives can be varied, based
on the communication of need and familiarity
with projected outcomes for the team. You can use
virtual resources to allow for more flexibility and
work around personal commitments. As a mentor,
knowing the training the mentee receives helps to
kick off the relationship. You knows what has been
reviewed and what the expectations are, which helps
to build a bond right from the start. A benefit to the
mentor is the chance to grow and enhance your own
knowledge and leadership skills and also be recipients
of new and updated knowledge.
Benefit to Organizations: Organizations all
have leadership roles. Formally, we see Boards and
Committees. Informally, people take on leadership
roles in their lives all the time. We all have to
remember leadership is not a title or a pay raise, but
is about looking at each opportunity as a chance to
grow your leadership skills. Utilizing those skills to
Melissa Tilton, OTA, BS, COTA, ROH
Abigail Swidergal, COTA/L, CKTP TM
take part in a formal role is a fantastic opportunity.
Rather than having the same people fulfill roles
repeatedly, training other members to take on those
roles helps to elicit diversity in the organization, and
helps to enhance the outcomes the organization is
looking for. Fresh eyes are critical! A Board full of
interested parties is likely to be more vested in the
future of an organization, and when providing
training and mentorship, a member is more likely to
continue to give back. An organization who sees the
value in training members in leadership skills is truly
thinking towards the future, and ensuring a new
generation is constantly engaged and excited!
ILOTA is one of those organizations. Look
forward to the future as an Emerging Leaders Program
is developed specifically in Illinois to cultivate future
leaders. The Emerging Leaders Program will be
debuted at the 2019 ILOTA Conference in Tinley
Park! See you there!
About the Author
Abi is an active member of ILOTA and AOTA
through various committees. She works with the
pediatric population and is an adjunct faculty
member in two OTA programs.
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