Significant Others

As well as structural mechanisms, interviewees described what might be termed ‘significant others’ in relation to their career journeys. These individuals took the form of mentors and role models, and they appear to have had significant influence over the interviewees’ careers.

5.4.1 Mentors

Almost all the interviewees described mentors who have acted as guides during their careers, in relation to providing encouragement and feedback when required, but also in more obviously formalised ways.

Generally, mentors as guides appeared to hold line management positions, the most commonly cited being the head of midwifery. This suggests a strongly hierarchical approach to development, with mentors having offered encouragement in relation to specific career opportunities. Lesley spoke of the role of mentors in her decision to come back into the NHS from university life. She had misgivings about the matron role, as it was based in a unit where she had previously struggled with the management structures:

“I became very friendly with [a professor of midwifery] – and again, he’s become a

good friend, but also a good professional leadership figure… for me, really. And

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NHS, you need to get back there’. And actually, the head of midwifery, who was

one of my fellow supervisors, told me this job was coming up, and felt that I would

be right for the post… So I rang [the professor], and discussed it with him, and he

said, you know, ‘What are your options? You run away, and you don’t accept the

challenge, or you go there and you change everything that you didn’t like about the

place, and you move it forward”.

As well as time-specific encouragement, mentors had in some cases been advising interviewees over a long period. Lesley described mentors she has admired since her student days:

“The biggest influence on me as a midwife were the mentors I got in my first

placement. The first birth I ever saw was a homebirth, and I had these two amazing

influences as mentors – strong, independent women, with a culture and a

philosophy of midwifery that was just very simple and straightforward… And they

continued to support me, right the way – in fact, I’m still in contact with one of

them… Those mentors were almost like my gurus throughout the last 20 years”.

Like Lesley, Louise mentioned the encouragement of mentors throughout her career to date, although her lack of confidence in her ability meant she expressed their role differently:

“I feel like I’ve kind of cheated in a way (laughing). I’ve not earned it in the same

way as others may have done – I haven’t done it without somebody kind of saying

to me, ‘You should go for this’”.

Mentors were also identified as highly significant individuals during secondments:

“I think the key role in the secondment for me, within my leadership development,

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one to one mentor relationship with her, and that has just been invaluable. It’s just

been absolutely amazing, because of her leadership style, and her management

style, which is one that I emulate. And she gave me the inspiration to then develop

further, to be honest with you. That’s where it all started” – Pauline, matron.

Mentors continued to exert influence in the interviewees’ current clinical leadership role. Louise described the mentorship from her head of midwifery:

“I have fortnightly one to one meetings with her, to talk about how things are

going, what sort of things we need to progress on”.

Mentors held formal and informal relationships with the interviewees, but for the most part were in a line manager position. This is perhaps suggestive of an organisational-level interest in the development of individuals, with line managers recognising the value and importance of encouraging the next generation of service leaders. Mentorship appeared positively received by the interviewees.

Caroline, however, stands out in discussions of mentorship, as she described a lack of support. Hers was a contrasting narrative, with descriptions of having sought out support in an unsupportive environment, and where self-motivation has been her driving force:

“And I think… in all aspects of our service, in maternity, in leadership roles, in

whatever role you’re in, it’s not – it’s not easy, because… nobody makes it easy –

nobody makes it easy for you, and you have to fight your way”.

5.4.2 Role Models

The place of role models was closely linked to mentorship. However, while mentors were universally spoken of in a positive light, role models were seen either in terms of individuals the interviewees aspired to be like, or as those they were determined to be different from.

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As with mentors, the most commonly cited role model was the head of midwifery, and again as with mentors, role models figured at various points in the career narratives. Interviewees identified various mechanisms through which role models might be positively regarded. For example, they were considered a means of learning leadership behaviours, which Deborah believed were not confined to individuals in formal position of authority:

“Also having role models from – not always thinking it’s got to be a senior manager

as your role model. You know, I’ve got some colleagues who work clinically, who

work – you know, some of the support staff round the way – who – like some of the

receptionists have got fantastic communication skills and people skills, and it’s just

learning from them how they actually handle things on a day to day basis”.

Pauline described how she considered the actions of her role model (the head of midwifery) when enacting leadership in her own role:

“I utilise – I emulate her skills and her approach a lot… Because when she had to do

the configuration, and reduce [band 7 community midwives] from 45 to 14, it

wasn’t easy, but she did the change management to a tee. And I’d just finished my

degree, a few years before then, and one of my modules was change management,

and that was a prime example of how to do change… It was perfect, to a tee. And

so therefore, what a good example have I got, to – whenever I’m introducing

change, to follow that approach, and so far, I can say that it’s always worked”.

However, interviewees suggested that role models could be complex, and that they might not wish to draw on some of their characteristics. Louise described picking and choosing qualities of role models:

“I think that’s kind of been all the way through my career. As a student you do –

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can gain a lot from a mixture of people, and you can identify the good and bad in –

in both their practice, personalities, and the way they deal with the general public.

And you have to make those conscious decisions of which bits of those you’re going

to pull out to influence the way you care for women, it it’s clinical practice – or the

way that you behave in clinical practice – and your profession”.

Clearly, there are strong links between mentors and role models, with several interviewees describing the same individuals in both categories. Role models are more complex than a dictionary definition might suggest. For example the Oxford Dictionary online definition of a role model describes ‘a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated’, but the interviewees also mentioned characteristics that were considered somewhat undesirable. To conclude this section of the chapter, which has dealt in depth with the interviewees’ leadership journeys, it is apparent that there has been strong interaction between them as individuals and in relation to the wider structures throughout their careers. Interviewees identified self-motivation, significant others, and organisational structures all playing significant parts in their journeys, with no single element taking primacy over another. The next section explores interviewees’ thoughts on their current role identity.