Nurturing our leaders: Transformational Leadership program

As an ongoing commitment to promote employee learning and development, Windermere is currently running three leadership programs: Adaptive Leaders, Transformational Leaders, Emerging Leaders.

We spoke to Jenny Field, Program Coordinator Counselling on her experience so far as a participant of the Transformational Leaders program.

What does being a leader mean to you?

My primary aim as a leader is to support individuals to help them grow and be the best they can be. It’s never about telling them what to do, but rather leading with compassion and accountability.

We are an organisation that deals with consumers with very complex backgrounds and it’s important to support staff who are supporting those consumers and have a trauma-informed lens to protect staff mental health and well-being.

How has this course helped you meet your goals so far?

The course has given me the opportunity to think about the macro and micro skills in leadership.

What I’ve enjoyed the most is learning about having difficult conversations. While we can always be positive and enjoy work, we do need to address any barriers or difficulties in meeting KPIs to help staff grow. That can sometimes be a challenge. This course has helped me reflect and take a more supportive approach.

Do you have any learning highlights from the course that you’d like to share?

I am new to leadership, and it can be a little isolating. When you are amongst a team of your colleagues you have each other for support. In a leadership role, you are the bridge between your staff and the seniors. This course has helped me get to know other leaders in the organisation and recognises that they face similar challenges as I do. It’s a relief to know that I am not alone in that.

Was there a topic or subject that resonated with you the most and why?

Understanding that in management uncomfortable aspects like having difficult conversations is part of the role. Being compassionate while still holding someone accountable is something that I’ve found challenging, and the course has helped me learn to sit with that discomfort and accept that.  

How important is professional development to you?

In my view it’s non-negotiable. It’s essential that any organisation that you want to work for is committed to professional development. We can never stop learning and it’s important to have a growth mindset. Not having opportunities to learn and grow will reduce enthusiasm and create the need to look elsewhere.

Professional development is significant in areas such as counselling where I work as it ensures we are practising ethically and managing duty of care with our consumers. Our program holds a lot of risks. Ongoing development helps staff feel secure that they have the knowledge and evidence-based practices to manage difficulties. It promotes positive mental health and staff retention in our organisation.

Would you recommend this program to your colleagues?

I absolutely recommend this program. I had never considered a leadership role and I was very anxious about what it would mean to be a leader. This course has been an amazing opportunity to reflect and learn what it means to be a leader. Simply knowing that I have the space to learn has helped me psychologically as well.

Being around other leaders and learning certain skill sets together also helps to create consistency of practice right across the organisation. I have observed that regardless of the program you manage or your level of experience, there are areas of commonality when it comes to leadership and that has given me more confidence.  

This course is a great initiative and I value that Windermere commits itself to professional development across the whole organisation.