The Aspiring Deans Leadership Development Programme: Perceptions of the Mentees

Abstract

Background Evidence suggests that a global nursing and midwifery shortage exists, and academic faculty are not immune to its effects. There are persistent recruitment and retention challenges paired with an ageing academic workforce. It is a concern that many faculty leaders are approaching retirement age with a profound lack of individuals prepared to step into these roles. The nursing and midwifery profession relies on competent, resilient leaders to drive transformational education and ensure excellent education for future practitioners. There is an urgent need for succession planning within the nursing and midwifery faculty to ensure capable individuals are prepared to take up leadership roles and propel nursing and midwifery education forward. The Aspiring Deans Leadership Development Programme was specially designed to support aspiring deans across Australia and New Zealand. The programme's purpose is to mentor academic nurses and midwives aspiring to be the next generation of academic leaders. Within the programme, the mentees had the opportunity to gain insights from a senior mentor and coaching from an executive coach. Mentorship provided relational, experience-based guidance, whereas executive coaching offered structured, skills-focused leadership development. Aim and Objectives This study aimed to identify the perceptions of mentees participating in the Aspiring Deans Leadership Development Programme within nursing and midwifery faculties in Australia and New Zealand. The primary objective was to provide evidence to the Council of Deans Nursing and Midwifery (Australia and New Zealand) on how the Aspiring Deans Leadership Programme could be strengthened in the future. Research Design A qualitative descriptive methodology was used in this study. First, a literature review was conducted to examine the evidence regarding mentorship in academia, specifically relating to aspiring leaders within nursing and midwifery faculty. Second, online, individual semi-structured interviews with nine mentees participating in the Aspiring Deans Leadership Development Programme were conducted to gain mentee perspectives. The individual interviews took place via Microsoft Teams, with participants being in various locations across Australia and New Zealand. The interviews were audio-recorded and then analysed using a general inductive approach. Findings Two main categories were identified during data analysis, each with subcategories. The first main category was ‘Strategic Leadership Development’ and had three subcategories ‘Programme Design’, ‘Access to Influential Networks and Opportunities’ and ‘Connection to Senior Leadership Perspectives’. The second main category was ‘Career Transformation’, which had two subcategories ‘Mentorship, Leadership Identity and Capability’ and ‘Development of Academic Career and Goal Realignment’. Conclusions The findings from this study identified that, participating in a mentor leadership programme designed specifically for aspiring nursing and midwifery leaders made a significant impact on an individual’s leadership development, networking opportunities and career advancement. The minor challenges identified informed recommendations to strengthen the programme.