THE SIX LAYERS OF INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP

BY David Pich FIML and photo by roy scott

  

One of the real privileges of leading the Institute is that I’m frequently asked to present at conferences and events. Of course, I do my very best – diary permitting – to say yes.

 

I have to say that the most enjoyable aspect of any presentation I deliver is almost always the Q&A session that follows. It’s an absolute pleasure to hear the views of the many and varied audiences (from association members, to teachers, to public sector workers, to MBA students) on management and leadership practice. Of course, like all presenters, I’m always a little nervous about the “curly questions” that might be thrown my way. These are usually those questions that reference specific companies or leaders with the ongoing Royal Commission into the financial services sector a very good case in point.

 

But the question that I always enjoy answering – and the one that I am invariably asked, albeit in a variety of slightly different guises – is “what can managers and leaders do to improve their management and leadership competence?”.

 

It was all the way back in late 2017, when I was asked this question at a conference in Brisbane, that I first used the term “intentional leader”. I used the word intentional to illustrate that managers really need to commit to being better and doing better. I wanted to emphasise that, in the vast majority of cases, good management practice doesn’t happen by accident. Of course, it can “just happen”. Some managers and leaders are fantastic at what they do because it comes naturally to them. For them (the lucky ones!) management is an effortless breeze.

 

Unfortunately, the reality is that the lucky ones are not the norm. They are the tiny minority. Just as the athlete who breezes effortlessly into the first team or who runs a sub-three-hour marathon with next to no training are the tiny minority, so the leader who leads well from day one is a very rare occurrence. For the rest of us – mere mortals – competence and good performance are a result of hours, days, weeks, months and years of practice. Improvement only occurs because we commit to being better. And that commitment is about intent.

 

Just as organisations need a vision and a strategy to head towards that vision, managers and leaders need a vision of who they want to be and how they want to manage and lead – and they need a strategy that will take them there.

 

So, when I get asked what leaders can do to be better, I refer to what IML calls “the six layers of intentional leadership”.
These are six practical things that managers and leaders
can do to improve.

 

The six layers of intentional leadership

1. Listen and ask questions. Leaders speak last

2. Find a mentor

3. Commit to self-awareness

4. Think before you act. Find time to make decisions

5. Commit to professional development

6. Reflect

 

And finally, the all-important (and yet so often forgotten) seventh layer; good leaders learn to say “thank-you”.  

 

BY David Pich FIML, chief executive of the Institute
of Managers and Leaders

 

 

 

 

Curious about how IML Membership works, and what it costs? Visit managersandleaders.com.au/join-iml/ to find out more

 

chief executive of the Institute
of Managers and Leaders

Three key ways to create a mentally healthy workplace

beyond blue

 

By beyondblue

 

 

One in five employees in Australia is likely to be working with a mental health condition and interestingly beyondblue research has found that despite 91% of employees believing workplace mental health is important, only 52% think their workplace is mentally healthy.

While organisational leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of good mental health at work, many aren’t quite sure how to turn this awareness into action.

The good news is any business can achieve great outcomes by following a process that includes involving employees in the design, implementation and review of mental health strategies.

While leaders have a major role to play, everyone in the workplace needs to play a part for there to be enduring improvements.

A key responsibility for leaders is to inspire and inform employees so they can achieve their best possible mental health.

beyondblue has found there are three crucial elements that lay the groundwork for improving the mental health culture of a business.

Creating a mentally healthy workplace

  1. COMMITMENT FROM SENIOR LEADERS AND BUSINESS OWNERS

Showing a visible commitment to mental health in the workplace is essential to developing a plan, its implementation and ongoing refinement.

Leaders should educate themselves and inform staff about conditions such as anxiety and depression and speak openly about mental health, including their own personal experience if they feel comfortable.

Making mental health an everyday discussion in the workplace creates a culture where managers will know how to look after their own mental health and what to do if an employee tells them they are experiencing difficulties.

It also makes employees feel comfortable that they can speak to a manager about a mental health issue.

Staff will also have the ability to recognise if a colleague is struggling, the knowledge to support them and refer them to professional health services.

workplace activities and staff participation

  1. ONGOING MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION

Research shows that involving your workforce in developing and imbedding a workplace mental health strategy is essential to the initiative’s success.

Staff should be invited to participate in its design, development, implementation and review.

Employees have a role in influencing the strategy’s design and will feel that they own the changes and the results, once the plan is implemented. It will also mean the strategy will be relevant to the specific needs of the workplace.

workplace communication

  1. KEEP THE COMMUNICATION LINES OPEN

Informed staff are engaged staff.

Continual communication will help break down barriers to addressing mental health and wellbeing while also contributing to reducing stigma.

Regular and ongoing communication also means a mental health strategy can be adapted as needs change and can gain buy-in from new employees.

These three factors are crucial to the success of mental health plans in workplaces.

They can help ensure that a workplace treats mental health the same as physical health, that stress and other mental health risks are managed, and employees are able to thrive.

Watch the video below to learn more about how you can play a role in workplace mental health.

 

FIND OUT MORE

Members of the beyondblue Workplace Engagement Team will present a series of mental health workshops at 18 locations throughout February and March as part of the IML 2018 Leadership Outlook Series.

They’ll provide insights into how to develop a workplace mental health plan and show how beyondblue’s Heads Up website and resources can guide an organisation’s approach.

To participate in a session, click here.

How to choose a leadership coach

Written by Phil Crenigan FIML, Executive coach and the Managing Director of Executive Turning Point.

 

Leadership coaching is big business. while it can have a positive influence on your career, much of the benefit comes down to finding the coach who is right for you.

JUST LIKE LIFE, our careers do not run in straight lines. A leadership coach can at least help to keep you on the right path, so long as you do your research and find the right one.
Recent studies have confirmed that engaging the right external leadership coach has a profound and measurable effect on positive engagement. It can also unlock potential and increase performance in two main ways – developmental coaching and coaching to resolve a problem or potential risk. In the latter case, I would argue that every coaching experience is a positive one, provided the organisation or individual will acknowledge that a problem or risk exists.

 

DEVELOPMENTAL COACHING
A leadership coach can help you to develop greater emotional intelligence. They can also help improve your skills and knowledge and provide frameworks for work/life balance, which is essential for good leadership. At an interpersonal level, a coach can support a leader in a new role and help teams set the bar for inspiring behaviour.At an organisational level, they can support the succession planning process by helping people realise their potential.

They can also fast-track the development of those with high potential and assist those who are leading transformational change or who have to influence a board. One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is acting as the team coach to build high performance. The ability to inspire others is a critical trait of successful leaders, but knowing how to build high performance is not always easily understood.

 

COACHING TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS OR RISKS
A leadership coach can help prevent career derailment and reduce stress levels or other emotional factors that might be interfering with performance. They can assist the coachee to address career-limiting behaviours and to avoid cultural misalignment in new roles. Where talent retention is an issue for an organisation, the engagement of a leadership coach can make a significant difference to the employment brand. A skilled leadership coach will be effective at reducing conflict between team members and closing gaps in the leadership skills that may be required in transformational change.
An experienced external leadership coach is usually preferred over internal coaches, given they tend to have less bias, focus on the right issues and require commitment and application of just-in-time learning. As personal development is often a casualty of time-poor executives, the engagement of an external leadership coach is both efficient and effective as there is a specific focus on outcomes.

 

CHOOSING A LEADERSHIP COACH
When it comes to selecting the right coach for you or your organisation, you must understand what you want to achieve from the process. As with many professions, there are outstanding coaches out there. However, as Leo D’Angelo Fisher described in his 2013 Australian Financial Review article ‘Time for Executive Coaching to come out of the shadows’, it seems there are more executive coaches out there than Elvis impersonators. D’Angelo Fisher wrote: “Coaching is one of the most heavily spun sections of the consulting fraternity.

I have met many scores of coaches over the years; they have ranged from impressive trusted advisors and confidantes of substance to opportunistic spivs, flakes and carpetbaggers.” This simple checklist can help you choose the right coach.

 

 

1. START WITH THE ISSUE
What is the purpose of coaching and what is the desired outcome? What does success look like? How might you measure the outcome? Ensure you have secured support from your boss whatever level you are.

2. IDENTIFY A SHORTLIST OF COACHES
Ensure they have the experience to address your issues and avoid having a coach imposed upon you.

3. DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE 
What do you see when you Google a potential coach’s names? Do they have strong recommendations from former clients on LinkedIn?

4. SEEK EXAMPLES FROM YOUR CANDIDATES
Ask them to show how they have addressed a particular issue in the past and understand the process they will adopt. Be clear on what style of coach you want and assess whether they are the right fit in your initial discussions.

5. ASK TO SPEAK TO THEIR CLIENTS
Find out what it is like to be coached by this person.

 

The relationship you develop with your leadership coach will be one of deep trust and respect, so it is worth being rigorous in the selection process so you get the most out of it.

Top five gifts of an exceptional Mentor

By Duncan Fish, Executive Coach & Interpersonal Skills Expert at The Engaging Executive.

The term Mentoring is quite popular, but what does it mean to you? In my opinion, the role of a Mentor is to espouse wisdom from a position of experience. The term ‘Mentor’ is derived from the story of Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus, King of Ithaca, had to leave his son to fight in the Trojan War, and entrusted the care of his household to a man named Mentor, who served as teacher and overseer. I have both had Mentors and been a Mentor to others in my career. It is a very rewarding process, and I have often learned as much from the Mentee as he or she has learned from me. So in this article I wanted to define, what I believe, are the top 5 gifts of an exceptional Mentor.

 

Sharing Wisdoms

Often I get asked, ‘What is the difference between a Coach and a Mentor’. Depending on the style of coaching in question, I would suggest that a Coach does not need to be an expert in the topic of a coaching conversation.  A Coach’s role is to use thought provoking questions and structure to enable someone to come to his or her own conclusions. Whereas a Coach will not usually give ideas or suggestions, a Mentor is expected to do this.

I currently have a Mentor, named David. This man is several stages more advanced in his business thinking than I currently, and has wisdoms well beyond mine. In fact, I chose this man to be my Mentor as he works in a similar style of business to mine and has traveled the same road. What are currently hurdles and challenges for me, are things he has already overcome. So the first gift of an exceptional Mentor is ability to pre-empt future roadblocks and help you circumnavigate them.

 

Challenging Limiting Beliefs

I see my life in two halves: before I met John and after I met John. John was the man who became my Mentor when I was 25 years old. Having not done very well at school, I was still carrying a lot of baggage and believing I was an academic idiot. As I had not gone to university at that point in time, I used to feel intimidated by anyone who had a university degree.

One day John took me to one side and had a conversation which changed the entire course of my life. He could see I was passionate about helping people, and he could see something in me that I couldn’t see in myself. One day he said, ‘Duncan, you would make a great Psychologist’. I replied, ‘I can’t, John. That would mean going to university and I am too old, too dumb, too poor and too scared’. However, John was an exceptional Mentor and he could see that I was being held back by my limiting beliefs. So he challenged me on all of these issues; he challenged me until I started to think differently. One by one he questioned my beliefs and probed and disentangled the story I had been telling myself all those years. That challenging  my beliefs about myself gave me the impetus to go to university, become a Psychologist, start my own business and go on to become an Author. The second gift of an exceptional Mentor is to enable a winning mindset.

Join the Institute of Managers and Leaders mentoring program

Opening Doors

Another role of a Mentor is to create networks for the Mentee. It can be hard work for Mentees to get access to the people they need to advance their careers. In a world of email and geographical dispersed teams, you can’t always just ‘bump into’ the people you need. Although this is a rule of thumb, a Mentor is normally at least two levels above the Mentee. As such, a Mentor is normally well connected due to his or her more strategic role. That often means operating beyond his or her own silo and forming relationships more broadly.  Whilst we like to believe, and should, in meritocracy, if you can’t get on board with the fact that having the right connections help, you are missing 50% of the equation. So the third gift of an exceptional Mentor is to open doors and enable connections.

 

Being Impartial

With the role of a Mentor comes great responsibility. It can be easy to get wrapped up in the role of being the ‘wise sage’ and living your life vicariously through the Mentee. However, you always need to remember, it is not your life and you are not the one who has to live with the consequences.

A Mentor always needs to appreciate that they are an outsider in the scenario. As such, they may only ever hear one side of the situation – that of the Mentee. Part of the role of the Mentor is to question this version of the truth to ensure that the Mentee is thinking from a number of perspectives. It can be dangerous for a Mentor to take sides. In fact, it could put them at odds with the Mentee’s own manager, especially if the Mentor and manager both work in the same organization. Hence, the fourth gift of an exceptional Mentor is to be objective and not take sides.

 

Goal Setting and Follow Up

When becoming a Mentor it is important to have an objective of the sessions. One of my personal gripes is seeing Mentoring sessions turn into coffee catch ups that go nowhere and then fizzle out. I have helped several organisations to set up formal Mentoring schemes and the ones that work are nearly always the ones that adopt a goal setting philosophy.

I always advise that the first session is a planning session, and that there should be an agreed number of sessions that the Mentor and Mentee contract to keep. This can be revised on an ongoing basis. In the same way as coaching, the Mentee should be required to set goals for between the sessions and to be accountable for completing the tasks agreed with the Mentor. The Mentors role is to help refine these goals, based on their wisdom, but not to set them absolutely. After all, they are a Mentor not a Manager. Saying that, the Mentor needs to ‘keep the Mentee honest’ and ensure they follow through on the agreed goals. So the fifth gift of a Mentor is goal setting and accountability.

 

 


Duncan will also be speaking at the Canberra Masterclass event ‘Decoding Leadership: From Specialist to Leader’ on the 15th September 2017.
Book Now to hear more from Duncan and many other professionals from the Canberra area at this full day interactive event.
Be quick! Early bird pricing is available until Friday 18th August 2017.

 

 

 

Freedom Fighter

 

In the Institute of Leaders and Managers new book, Leadership Matters, Transparency International boss Cobus de Swardt explains why he’s just as passionate now about combatting corruption as he was fighting the scourge of apartheid in the 1980s.

 

Transparency International is a global movement that brings together companies, governments and business to fight corruption on a worldwide scale. Operating in more than 100 countries, its headquarters are in Berlin. Managing director Cobus de Swardt was born and raised in South Africa, where he was jailed for refusing to undertake compulsory army service. He eventually fled South Africa for Australia under significant personal danger. He has headed Transparency International since 2007.

 

David Pich: I think in future years people will look back on this decade and the word corruption will be commonly used. What do you define as corruption?
Cobus de Swardt: I view corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private and personal gain. This comes in many forms. One of the most significant ways to fight corruption is to fight for greater transparency – that’s why we’re called Transparency International.

 

DP: What do you define as transparency?
CDS: Definitions of concepts such as transparency, corruption, accountability and integrity are actually dynamic and evolving. It comes back to your opening question really. The last few years have seen definitions shift and transparency [as a concept] is developing faster than all the others. Some people [now] refer to a much more radical transparency. I believe that in five to 10 years’ time from now, this will, again, move quite dramatically. Five years ago, little attention was being paid to things like statutes of limitations, so governments could relatively easily do deals on arms or whatever [in the knowledge that] the statute of limitation would last for 30 years or more. But if that statute of limitation is five or 10 years, it becomes a very different issue even at a government level. So transparency is about making things much more difficult to hide and bringing things out into the light. In South Africa, as young [anti-apartheid] activists in the 1970s and 1980s we always wanted to have the right to speak the truth to those people in power, but now I think that [situation] is being reversed. We now want those in power to speak the truth to us! The notion of transparency being much more instant, much more direct, and dramatically more open. For example, if you look at corporate reporting, even four or five years ago companies didn’t want to report on their activities on a country-by-country basis. They would say, “Here’s our overall global financial statement”. It was very difficult to tell what was happening at a country level. That debate about transparency now seems like it happened two decades ago, but it didn’t, it was only five years ago. And now country-by-country reporting has become project-by-project reporting.

 

DP: What do you think can be done to see ethics and integrity placed at the heart of decision-making in leadership?
CDS: I think that it starts with the leader. Regulation and rules need to be in place of course, but leaders must constantly think about the values they want to promote. This question is at the heart of sound leadership. It’s much easier for a leader to think about the outcomes they want to deliver, but leaders need to constantly think about the underpinning values to these outcomes. If you think about social policy in general, I would argue that most social policies are often quite devoid of a strong value-driven framework. It’s often the same with leadership. Many leaders are driven by outcomes rather than values. That needs to change.

 

DP: I agree that many organisations are focused on outcome and output. A lot of a leader’s decision-making is linked to output, not to value. I think that ethical leadership is about a much stronger link between outcome and value. Decision-making is such an important part of successful leadership, don’t you think?
CDS: I do think there’s a very strong element that whatever you do you should at all times feel comfortable with that decision. If, for whatever reason, your decisions were to become public knowledge, would you feel comfortable with that? That’s the test of sound decision-making. In my role at Transparency International, I often have companies say to me, “Oh, this corruption thing, it’s so complicated, our people don’t know what to do because the laws are so . . . ” And I typically say, “Just use common sense”. I recommend using ‘The New York Times test!’ Ask yourself, if the decision I make were to appear on the front page of The New York Times, would I still do it? Probably 99 per cent of times you would say yes, but it’s the other one per cent that you need to think about. Being an ethical leader is about passing The New York Times test 100 per cent of the time.

 

Take Two – Asterisk and Reward

Ben Luks MIML had just been appointed as marketing, product and client liaison manager at Adelaide-based IT company Comunet when he joined the Institute’s mentoring program. He was teamed up with Bob Schroder FIML, managing director of consulting firm Asterisk management, and says the experience gave him the confidence he needed to become a successful manager.

Why did you join the Institute’s mentoring program, Member Exchange?

Ben Luks: I’d recently been appointed to a new management position and it was the first time I’d been a manager. I realised I had to learn as much as I could as quickly as possible. The chance to join the mentoring program came at a very crucial point in my career. Bob was very generous with his time and was willing to meet with me every fortnight for about six months, which was fantastic.

Bob Schroder: I’ve been mentoring business leaders for quite a few years, mostly in the area of small-to-medium-sized businesses. This was my first experience with the mentoring program and I joined because mentoring challenges my own thinking. I find that an emerging manager sometimes faces the same issues I faced in the past as well as many different ones. Also, some challenges just look different, but are really the same ones in disguise.

What did you get out of the experience?

BL: I feel more confident in my management role compared to where I was when I started. The mentoring program gave me the skills and the ideas I needed to perform effectively as a manager and the confidence that comes with that is very important. It also gave me the opportunity to see the next steps forward in my career and to think about the bigger picture. Bob really opened my eyes to what is possible beyond my current role and where I could go from here.

BS: Well, it sounds a little bit corny, but I like to give back. I think that’s really important. I’ve had a career in management and consulting over the past 30 years. It’s been interesting and exciting and rewarding for me and I want others to have a similar experience in their own careers.

What did you learn from each other?

BL: Bob provided a different perspective on management and shared insights from his vast experience as a management consultant. The team I manage includes people quite a bit older than me, and Bob emphasised that anybody can be a manager – it doesn’t matter how old you are. If you have the ability to work effectively with people and to give them the opportunity to grow into their roles and the space they need to perform to the best of their abilities, then you can be a manager. That was a lesson I learned from the outset and it was really empowering for me and very inspiring.

BS: I enjoy interaction with bright young managers. Ben, particularly, is a bright young chap who’s on the growth path. I gained a better perspective on the way in which emerging managers think and the perspectives of the new generations of employees who will shape business in the future. That’s particularly important.

Would you recommend the mentor program to others?

BL: Absolutely. For any new manager, or any aspiring manager, the program enables you to learn skills and insights that really can only be gained from years of experience. You can’t put a price on having access to that knowledge and experience.

BS: Yes, absolutely. I’d say to anyone who’s considering becoming a mentor in the program that if you’re doing it for the expectation of significant personal or financial benefit, you need to re-examine your motives. Those things will happen, but they’ll happen by making you into a better and well-rounded manager.

Take Two – Distance Education

 

Anthony Vassallo is the business manager at Redeemer Lutheran College in Brisbane. His mentee, Jennifer Bisley, is based in Bundaberg as regional manager, curriculum support (North Coast region) at Queensland’s Department of Education and Training. Despite being 380km apart, they have been talking together each fortnight for the past year to set goals, discuss challenges and share ideas. Vassallo says mentoring is “a valuable refresher course” and Bisley believes it’s an essential part of professional and personal growth.

 

Why did you join the mentor program?

Jennifer Bisley: Most leaders have mentors – some have more than one. I wanted someone totally impartial to talk to on a professional level who had nothing to gain from our conversations. When the opportunity presented itself, it was great timing because I was experiencing enormous changes at work. Anthony wasn’t playing in my sandpit, so I could say what was on my mind.

Anthony Vassallo: I worked for many years in German banks where they had traineeships, and I was a mentor then. I found it very satisfying to help people in their career. When the opportunity came up again, I decided to become involved.

 

What is the value of a mentoring relationship?

JB: When you commit to having a mentor, you commit time to do something for yourself. It means you can’t take that phone call or check your email during the hour that you’ve dedicated to mentoring. It’s an investment in your personal and professional growth and in your overall wellbeing.

AV: Discussions generally start with leadership and management strategy, and then evolve into personal reflection, which is important for any leader. My discussions with Jenny included the things she wanted to achieve as a person; hopefully that was rewarding for her.

 

What did you learn from each other?

JB: What didn’t I learn! I learned practical applications for my role. Through Anthony, I was able to look at challenges or problems through a different lens.

AV: Jenny thinks a lot about the kind of leader she wants to be and this made me think what kind of leader I am and how I can improve.

 

What did you get out of the program?

JB: I was able to establish clear goals and values. I also learned that I’m my harshest critic and the mentoring relationship involves a lot of self-reflection.

AV: Mentoring is like a refresher course. When you’re recommending books or papers or TED talks, you revisit them yourself and it helps to refresh your ideas.

 

Would you recommend the mentor program to others?

JB: Absolutely. It has been a key component of my leadership journey. Everyone should have a mentor.

AV: It’s been very good for me and I’d certainly recommend it. Like a lot of things in life, it’s good for you but you don’t often make time for it. If you’re going to do it, be strict with yourself about making the time.

Building resilience and confidence

When Vicky came back to her Victorian State Government position after maternity leave, it was tough. Getting back in there and leading her team again required renewed confidence in her abilities and a strong mental attitude.

Marion King FIML

Vicky was matched with Marion King FIML, from Conocer Consulting, specialising in Workforce Planning and HR Consulting. This turned out to be a very successful team relationship, where the opportunity to really get to what mattered and turn around perceptions worked exceptionally well.

 

Why did you join IML’s mentoring program?

Vicky: As part of an organisational leadership program, I identified mentoring would be beneficial. It seemed like a better long- term option to look externally and focus on less technical skills and more widely at management skills.

Marion: I think it’s a very valuable opportunity for me to use my experience as a leader to guide others. It’s great that IML offers this service, as it’s not always possible to find the right match within an organisation.

 

What did you get out of the experience?

Vicky: After a year of maternity leave, my confidence was low and my self-doubt was high. It was great that I had the opportunity to take time to explore different areas I felt I was weak in. It made me feel more confident about my skills and abilities. I also gained a better understanding of what I want from my career, time to reflect on my skills and work on my weaknesses. This isn’t something I have time for generally, so it felt like a luxury.

Marion: It was very rewarding. Vicky and I had great rapport from the very beginning, it was a very good match. She was very open about what she wanted from the program, where she was to begin with and where she wanted to go.

 

What did you learn from each other?

Vicky: Don’t be afraid to take risks. Consider what are the consequences of something not going to plan and weigh up whether it is worth taking the risk.

Marion: Work life can be pretty tough and is rarely predictable.  Vicky is very emotionally intelligent and uses these skills to be a very aware manager and understand what her staff are going through. I also learnt about some issues that are facing the public sector generally.

 

Would you recommend the mentoring program to others?

Vicky: Yes, it’s a great opportunity for self-reflection, which is something you don’t generally have time to do. Do it with an open mind and don’t be afraid to openly and honestly tackle issues that may be holding you back.

Marion: Absolutely. It’s a rare opportunity to really discuss openly where you are in your work, (and personal) life and to get some practical advice on how to build a pathway to success.

Take Two – Second Sight

Dr Christopher Clarke FIML, manager of corporate safety at Melbourne Water, was inspired to push his career envelope by mentor Ron Skaff FIML, an organisational change practitioner and director at Forma & Associates. They began meeting in Melbourne last year.

 

Why did you join IML’s mentor program?

Christopher Clarke (pictured right): I joined for the opportunity to tap into the knowledge of someone who sits within a senior leadership team and to learn from their experience. Also, I wanted to discuss my long-term goals and how I could reach them. I wanted to have trusted and personal conversations and expand my range of contacts and look at innovative ways of career development.

Ron Skaff (left): I actually saw a tweet the other day where some millennial was saying that mentoring is dead. I didn’t respond but I wanted to. I have been mentoring for a good portion of my adult life. I was coaching CEOs when I first came to Australia [from the US] and I’ve been a Member of IML since 1994. In the last couple of years, I realised that with all my commercial acumen I should be giving back to IML because of all the relationships it has opened up to me.

 

What did you learn from each other?

CC: Within the first five minutes of speaking to Ron, I knew he was the right fit for me. It didn’t take me long to see Ron has a brilliant strategic mind. His was a great mind to tap into. Although we were talking about career development, we’d also dive into life in general.

RS: You need to separate the person from the career. Chris has a strong family values anchor and I believe my family values play the same important role for me. He would tell me the things he was doing with his family and how that made him feel in terms of his personal life and career, and that was helpful for me because my family was following some similar paths. It helped me see where my focus should be, which was with my family.

 

What is the value of a mentoring relationship?

CC: Without the mentoring program I may not have been able to meet someone like Ron. He definitely inspired me to push the envelope in my chosen career field.

RS: Part of my role as a mentor is to develop a roadmap with my mentee about their career. Chris had just finished his PhD in safety and was looking at transformational leadership. I enjoy the personal satisfaction of knowing I played a role in the growth of a protégé.

 

What did you get out of the IML Mentor program?

CC: We workshopped various professional development tools. We did a career SWOT and also looked at my strengths in my personal life, which I hadn’t done before. We were able to correlate the two and I got some great insights. Ron also sent me some reading material to discuss when we caught up.

RS: Sharing my motivation and seeing the motivation of others is enjoyable. Mentoring allows you to see unique perspectives and a diversity of thought.

 

Would you recommend it to others?

CC: If you want to work closely with someone to improve your career and personal progression, absolutely.

RS: Anyone who believes they’d like to mentor should do so. The experience delivers a deeper learning outcome, different than using the internet or reading a book to understand new leadership approaches.

 

Take Two – A Firm Guiding Hand

Solicitor Brooke Reardon MIML can’t thank mentor Chris Blair FIML enough for helping her pluck up the courage to start her own business

 

Brooke Reardon MIML, principal practitioner at Your Law Firm Horsham, joined AIM’s mentor program to help steer her through a life-changing career move. She was teamed up with Chris Blair FIML, Enterprise Manager at legal documentation company Topdocs, and credits his guidance with helping her take a leap forward.

 

Why did you join AIM’s mentor program?

BROOKE REARDON: I was at a crossroads in my career. I was working as a solicitor at a law firm and decided to join the mentoring program because I felt like I needed guidance to help make some big decisions. Chris was instrumental in building my confidence to not only start my own business early this year but also to join the Your Law Firm franchise.

CHRIS BLAIR: I’ve been involved in mentoring one way or another for a long time. The first experience was at least 20 years ago when I was working for big global company and they introduced a mentoring program. I loved it. I always had mentors earlier in my career, not that they were probably called mentors in those days!

 

What did you get out of the experience?

BR:  Have you read the book Who Moved My Cheese? It’s an oldie but a goodie. I think Chris was a partner on the journey of looking for the new cheese for me! He helped me explore different options and put me in contact with people who could also help. He never made the choices for me but he helped me uncover different options that may or may not have been suitable for me.

CB: Brooke is a really smart lawyer and a really nice person. I’m a helper by nature and I like coaching and encouraging. Mentoring provides a total support system and it’s the kind of trusted relationship that I thrive on.

 

What did you learn from each other?

BR: Chris was very approachable, very considerate, very knowledgeable and very quickly understood my position and where I was seeking to go. I don’t think I would be where I am now without having Chris’ guidance along the way. He was woven into my career story from the minute he became my mentor, so when I tell people about my journey of how I became a practitioner, the AIM mentoring program and Chris himself are a key part of that story.

CB:  Brooke was really stuck in a difficult position. It was inspiring to see her make a decision for her career that will have life-long positive impacts. It’s not just, “Hey, I got this little promotion”. What Brooke did will change her life forever, and that’s really powerful.

 

Would you recommend the mentor program to others?

BR: Absolutely. Without a mentor, you can live a bit in a vacuum because you’ve got no one to bounce things off. It also increases your confidence when you’ve got someone else giving you feedback on your ideas. The whole experience was exceptionally valuable to me. It was life-changing.

CB:  Definitely. If somebody needs to have an external second opinion, coach, mentor, or whatever you want to call it, so long as they’re matched up well, it can provide a real helping hand. You may also gain a lifelong friend at the end of the day.