This blog brings together the reflections of several Health Innovation East colleagues who participated as mentors on the Routes mentoring programme. Their experience transformed their perceptions of leadership and their leadership practice.

Here, the mentors explore what it means to them to be a leader, and how the Routes programme challenged them to lead with confidence and integrity.

Our roots…

Working alongside the NHS as part of the Health Innovation Network, we think innovatively, create ideas and deliver meaningful change. We solve problems in health and care and lean towards finding and implementing solutions – delivering results as swiftly as possible is fundamental to our work and makes up a large part of what we do every day.

Equally, the management of dynamic and complex projects means that we typically use and value directive communication. Our experience with Routes and undertaking the mentoring role, was an opportunity for us to further consider our leadership style(s) and develop our non-directive communication abilities.

… and Routes:

Routes aims to build relationships that truly impact the lives of mentees working towards their goals and for them to be supported in a kind and patient way. All while developing mentors’ leadership skills.

The role of an effective mentor is to support a mentee to find their own solutions and paths to a variety of personal development and professional goals. Taking part in the programme offered leadership and mentoring experiences which helped us learn, grow and build an inclusive leadership skillset. It also provided us with the opportunity to reflect on how to enhance our leadership skills, while supporting refugee and asylum-seeking women to make tangible progress towards their own professional goals.

Each Health Innovation East mentor committed to attending an initial 1.5 days of training, one evening training session, and to completing at least 10 hours of mentoring over a four-month period. Training was delivered online and mentoring pairs chose whether to meet online, face-to-face or hybrid.

Why we chose to take part:

The values that Health Innovation East holds are important not only to the organisation but also as a guide for how we choose to work. They include always looking to improve, delivering on our promises, amplifying diverse voices and being appreciative in all our relationships. We identified the Routes programme as a chance to live those values further.

Embarking on this programme, we knew the journey would challenge us, so we each set ourselves ambitious yet meaningful goals that would strengthen our leadership skills and help us grow as individuals:

• Become open, honest and inspirational leaders and learn how to use our relationship-building skills to quickly develop trust and collaboration.
• Explore how to lead with intentionality, utilising non-directive communication and recognising its value as a strong leadership quality.
• Build confidence navigating conversations that might feel challenging. 
• Challenge our preconceptions of what makes a good leader.
• Seeking to lead with a non-judgemental mindset, and understanding more about our unconscious biases.
• Use our skills to further empower our teams and colleagues

What we learned and how we’ll change

Having completed the Routes programme we realised it wasn’t just about picking up new knowledge, it was also about reshaping our ideas of ‘leadership’.

• We all agreed we had preconceptions that mentoring, and in turn ‘leadership’, was a structured, process-oriented activity and in the domain of senior leaders. We knew it was time to challenge some of these preconceptions and unlearn ideas that no longer served us or those we lead – exploring how leadership isn’t built through power dynamics, but instead trust, empowerment and collaboration.
• As mentors we had to see how we could create opportunities, or make space for others to grasp opportunities and achieve success. Enabling our mentees to find their own solutions meant our leadership role was more that of a connector, confidence builder and celebrant – effective leadership is sometimes about handing over control and empowering someone else to lead.
• Authenticity and vulnerability are deeply human. We all agreed that being ourselves and being present made Routes such a rewarding experience. It was through being invested that we were able to celebrate our mentees’ wins as if they were our own. The investment of time sometimes generated greater than anticipated benefits for all – getting the relationship right can sometimes take more time than you expect or often think you can afford, but this experience made us realise this was a good investment.
• Leadership isn’t about perfection, we all valued the opportunity with Routes and with our mentees to explore how to better adopt a non-judgmental mindset and explore our unconscious biases, leading with greater awareness and inclusivity.
• Each of us reflected how we ‘defaulted’ to using directive communication and we wanted to hone our non-directive communication skills. This was a challenge for some of us as the difference was subtle, encouraging others to find their own solutions rather than providing   guidance or instruction. Directive communication can dominate in leadership – we all believe that non-directive communication is not a sign of a weak leader, but rather a sign of building confidence and trusting the capabilities of those we lead.
• At Health Innovation East our activity and achievements are often clear, measurable and delivered at pace. Our Routes experience taught us the value of viewing ‘achievement’ for ourselves and others, in a more flexible and subjective way. Sometimes the journey towards the end goal was just as (and in some cases, more) important than the goal itself. Sometimes the journey was the ‘project’ and ‘fast pace’ was not always the ‘best pace’.

Further reflections for leadership

Encouragement, belonging and challenge enriches the leadership landscape / experience: We all agreed that we wouldn’t have taken as much away from this experience as we did without the peer support that was in place. The support we had as a group in this collaborative learning environment, enabled us to share experiences, insights, and challenges. We found, even in the simplest of interactions as a mentor group, that our peers’ perspectives provided a fresh approach to solving problems and making decisions. Not to mention the peer encouragement we all received and gave which created a sense of belonging and boosted confidence during the leadership journey.

Constructive feedback from others was vital for identifying blind spots in our actions and responses and areas for change or improvement. The diverse perspectives from colleagues and mentors really enriched all our experiences.

Embrace empowering others as crucial to team development: Health Innovation East emphasises continuous learning and growth through structured development programmes but also through informal arrangements in the workplace. We work to shared goals, communicate openly and honestly and are each accountable for all of our actions.

Empowerment was a cornerstone of this programme for all of us. We were excited about the opportunity to support our mentee in following her dreams more confidently, taking ownership of her journey and believing in her own potential. The programme gave us the chance to witness first-hand how it can transform lives— not just for the mentees but for mentors as well. It reinforced the importance of creating environments where people feel supported, valued, and encouraged to pursue their aspirations.

Conclusion

The Routes mentoring experience was transformative for all of us. It pushed many of us out of our comfort zones and encouraged us to embrace new ways of thinking about leadership and communication. Having the time, space and support network within our roles at Health Innovation East and at Routes to reflect and change our habits and the way we work has been invaluable.

We learned that the unfamiliar and feeling uncomfortable can be positive and it’s this challenge that really can open the door to personal and professional growth (for us and our mentees).

We leave the Routes journey not only with enhanced skills but also with a renewed sense of purpose – to grow as leaders who do so with authenticity, inspiring others through true connections, with the strength, skills and confidence to empower others.