ahi’s Career+ Mentoring program is a key plank in our commitment to providing meaningful professional development opportunities for our members. But don't take our word for it – let's hear from mentor/mentee partnership, Katheryn ‘Kat’ Atkinson and Amanda Mundell.
Beyond their obvious connection to entertainment and pop culture, Bob Dylan, Oprah Winfrey, J.J Abrams and Lady Gaga all share something in common: they credit the role mentors* played in their success. But mentoring isn't just reserved for the likes of celebrity; it's instrumental for profound personal and professional development in any industry; the social, community and affordable housing sector being no exception.
The ahi: Career + Mentoring Program brings several special and noteworthy benefits to the table, particularly as an industry-specific program. Through Career+, mentors with firsthand experience provide insights directly applicable to the sector's challenges and opportunities. With the 2023/24 Career+ program coming to its conclusion in May, we spoke with a mentor/mentee partnership to find out a bit about these two participants and their Career+ experience.
Kat Atkinson, Housing Services Project Manager for HousingFirst, in Melbourne, has close to 40 years’ experience in housing, including roles in housing management within the operations team and project management, as well as policy and leadership.
Her mentee, Amanda Mundell, has been a housing officer with Pacific Link Housing in Gosford since 2022. In that time, she’s had her shoulder to the tenancy management wheel, as well as mastering the wider workings of the social housing, local government and non-profit sector on the NSW Central Coast.
“I wanted to be the best I could be."
"I wanted to be the best I could be," says Amanda when asked what attracted her to the ahi: Mentoring program in the first instance. Inspired by a colleague who had been mentored early on in her career and gone on to, as Amanda puts it, “achieve great things within Pacific Link”, her desire to find a mentor was also based on a determination to address her professional shortcomings.
“I wanted to learn and develop my skills as much as I could, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to learn as much as possible, and then put into practise everything I had the opportunity to learn from a long-term career professional.”
Kat, meanwhile, had cut her managerial teeth in an era when micro-management and nothing less than 100-percent productivity were the dominant leadership styles.
“I came from the old management school of thinking — it was very much eyes down, bum up, get on with the job, and not the touchy-feely type of management,” she admits. “1996 was my first senior manager's role and, at that time, you led from the top; there probably wasn't a lot of consultation. I was very much brought up in the old boy network as well—a lot of male managers and not many female managers working their way through the '70s and '80s.”
Like most of us who joined the workforce in the ‘90s, the change from top-down to a more collaborative and empathy-driven leadership style has seen her flourish.
"I wanted to pass something else on to others who were new.”
“Certainly, my last two managers were really good in working with me and developing me in a more positive way. They were kind of my unofficial mentors, if you like,” she continues. “They helped me take off those rough edges, and I was inspired by what they taught me and how I developed as a person. I just felt, with my experience and that development, I wanted to pass something else on to others who were new."
The pairing as mentor and protégé has been fruitful for both parties. For Kat, Amanda’s professional evolution over the six months of the program underscores why she was so keen to become a mentor. She admits that seeing the changes in Amanda has been immensely satisfying.
"What I've got out of this is seeing Amanda grow into such a confident, positive, changed person."
“When I first started talking to Amanda, she was very low in her self-esteem and questioned her ability to do her job. She questioned a lot of things that she was doing. What I've got out of this is seeing Amanda grow into such a confident, positive, changed person. It's helped her professionally, but I think it's helped her a lot personally."
Amanda agrees that the benefits of mentorship, for her, have transcended the workplace: “Every time I've spoken with Kat, I've felt supported, encouraged, inspired, and I'm very grateful for everything she's done for me.”
But, as Kat suspected, her learnings have gone beyond the professional sphere: “The improvements I've made within myself, within my role, have also expanded to improvements in my personal life,” she enthuses.
"I've learned so much from Kat, and I can feel the changes within myself, not only in my work, but in my relationships with other people. So, I know that the mentorship has been very beneficial and I can't express my gratitude enough. I’ve wholeheartedly taken on board everything she said and applied it, and I've definitely seen the changes within myself, within the workplace, within my relationships with staff and tenants.”
Openness, honesty, trust and passion are the key elements needed for any mentor-protégé relationship to be a success, according to both participants. Kat was particularly impressed by Amanda's honesty and openness, and her willingness to address areas she needed to improve. This also helped Kat be a better mentor.
“She was prepared to ask for feedback to make sure that what I was saying to her was what she needed to hear and not just what I thought she wanted to hear," Kat explains. "It helped to make sure that I was kept on the right track as well.”
“A lot of what Kat has said is true,” adds Amanda. “Initially, the ahi: mentor leaders said coming into this program that it was important to form a trusting relationship, to know that discussions will just be between the two of you, to help you have that mutual respect for each other and really apply yourself to what you're going through. And that's what we've done. I think a genuine passion as the mentor for what they're doing to facilitate the person they're mentoring is exactly what Kat's done.”
"People in leadership positions across the industry owe it to themselves to share their experience with the next generation of housing professionals."
Neither Kat nor Amanda can sing the praises of the ahi: Career+ Mentoring Program highly enough, with both strongly encouraging others to get involved without delay. Speaking from a mentor perspective, Kat believes that people in leadership positions across the industry owe it to themselves to share their experience with the next generation of housing professionals. She also believes that the program is a golden opportunity for those entering the sector as new employees to make a difference.
“If you can learn from great leaders, pick up knowledge, ways of working with other people in a more collaborative way and picking up hints and tips, it can only benefit you, so I would encourage anyone to be a mentee as well.”
Amanda concurs. In fact, she’s been proselytising in her office to anyone who’ll listen! “I've already started saying it to other people in our office, because I know how beneficial the experience was for me."
“I think it's a brilliant opportunity, not just for new staff, [but] even people that have been doing this work for a while," Amanda continues. "It's an opportunity to inspire them, and remind them of, maybe, why they do what they do, and learn from someone else who has been through it all, and is still doing well, and loving their job.”
“Hopefully, in the future, I can be one of those aspiring leaders we're talking about.”
“I felt so heard and understood, and I left every meet-up feeling like I'd learned something new that I could apply to the day-to-day aspects of my role. I'll take so much out of this and carry it with me,” she concludes. "Hopefully, in the future, I can be one of those aspiring leaders we're talking about."
“I get quite uplifted when I finish the session with Amanda too,” Kat agrees. “I feel as though I've achieved something really positive because of her development. I usually go back to my desk feeling really good about myself because I'm helping Amanda develop.”
The 2024/24
ahi: Career+ Mentoring Program kicks off soon.
* Bob Dylan: mentored by Woody Guthrie
Oprah Winfrey: mentored by Maya Angelou
Lady Gaga: mentored by Elton John
J.J Abrams: mentored by Steven Spielberg
Share This Article
Other articles you may like
Stay up to date with the latest news and events.
We acknowledge the Wathaurong, Yuin, Gulidjan, and Whadjuk people as the traditional owners of the land where our team work flexibly from their homes and office spaces. Ahi Australia recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of Australia and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work. Ahi New Zealand acknowledges Māori as tangata whenua and Treaty of Waitangi partners in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Copyright © 2023 Australasian Housing Institute
site by mulcahymarketing.com.au