Speaking frankly...                                       

Let's talk leadership...

Last week I enjoyed being part of the National Mental Health Commission Australian Mental Health Leaders Fellowship program. A new initiative that follows the proud legacy of the Future Leaders Programme for consumers and carers established in 2014. Speaking to these young leaders I was able to share a wonderful approach to leadership I once heard from Alan Tongue – a former captain of the Canberra Raiders Rugby League team.

As a young player, Alan almost lost his place in the team when his coach told him he was too small, and too slow. Knowing he could not significantly change his size, or his speed, he headed down a different path. He assessed each of his team mates, and identified something he could do to help them improve their game. He then went to each of his team mates, and told them what he would be doing to optimise their strengths.

Rather than lose his place in the team, the strategy led to him being appointed captain. A leader… and not because he was the ‘the strongest or best player in the team’, but the player who made his team mates stronger.

Over the last week we have seen some of our key mental health organisations come together to make each other stronger - beyondblue, Black Dog Institute, Everymind, headspace, Lifeline, ReachOut, and R U OK? `

Setting aside the temptation to ‘capture markets’ or to compete with each other, these organisations are working together to amplify an important message #YouCanTalk. 

#YouCanTalk addresses the longstanding taboo that has prevented direct conversations about suicide. In their words:

The main message is you don’t need to be a clinician, a GP, or a nurse to check-in with someone you are worried about. Trust your instincts and access suicide prevention resources to assist you in having the discussion. This includes recognising the signs that someone is thinking of suicide, how to talk about it openly and honestly and what to do if someone says they are not coping and needs help.

#YouCanTalk is about giving people the confidence to have the conversation by connecting them to the tools that can support them.

In a sector that is often (and in my view unfairly) criticised for being fragmented, #YouCanTalk is yet another excellent model and example of leadership through collaboration and cooperation, in an environment that too often encourages competition.

So in the theme of leadership and collaboration, I’ve asked our own Emma Coughlan – Senior Policy and Projects Officer at Mental Health Australia - to add her voice to this week’s blog.

Emma is one of the participants in the Australian Mental Health Leaders Fellowship program, and like many of her peers, across a range of organisations, is working hard for our current mental health system and its future.

Warm regards.

Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer
 

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Systemic leadership and innovation key to achieving a common goal

Our Australian mental health sector faces significant challenges now and into the future. Challenges because the responsibility for mental health services is dispersed within, and between, levels of government and due to the ever increasing speed of national reforms, such as transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

In addition, our community more broadly has made major strides in terms on the removal of stigma, but we all know there is a long way to go before mental health is treated with the same openness and compassion as other health conditions.

These challenges are not to be under-estimated. This is precisely why now, more than ever, leadership and innovation across sectors, which strive to improve the mental health of Australians, is so important.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a week with emerging leaders with a passion for enhancing mental health as a part of the Australian Mental Health Leaders Fellowship.

It is an understatement to say that time spent with this richly diverse, creative and driven cohort was deeply moving and energising for me personally. In fact, one of the core strengths of the Fellowship is the broad diversity of both the cohort selected to participate and the subject matter covered as a part of the residential learning component.

This approach reflects the reality that most impactful innovation occurs at the edge of at least two sectors. We also know that to successfully drive such innovation into reality requires strong leadership, not from just one person, but across a system, including from consumers and carers.

Although this type of systemic leadership is often explained in terms of ‘steering a big ship’, actually in practice we know it is the alignment of many people within and between sectors applying their specific expertise, passion and drive towards achieving a common goal.

Already the Fellowship has encouraged the establishment of strong working relationships between sectors. It boosted optimism to view the above-mentioned challenges not as threats but as surmountable changes. Changes which can be tackled with the integrated resilience, expertise and relationships we know already exist within and between so many of the hard working consumers, carers, service providers and policy officials across relevant sectors.

I’m sincerely grateful to the National Mental Health Commission and the University of Melbourne who had the vision to establish such a profoundly impactful leadership program and to my own organisation, Mental Health Australia, for the encouragement to apply.

If this first week is anything to judge by, the comprehensive program of residential learning, mentoring, group work and a work placement will significantly enhance the contribution of every program participant, and I look forward to working with these new colleagues to figure out how we can best work together to improve Australian mental health into the future.

Kind regards,

Emma Coughlan
Senior Policy and Project Officer

 

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Farewell to Professor Lyn Littlefield as APS Executive Director

This week we received the news that Lyn Littlefield will retire as Executive Director of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). I am sure I speak on behalf of many in acknowledging Lyn’s exceptional contribution over almost 18 years, and in wishing her well for her retirement.

In addition to her service at APS, Lyn served for many years as an active member of the Mental Health Australia board. It is impossible to do justice to a contribution such as Lyn’s in the few short words available here. I am sure many public tributes will follow this announcement. 

Enjoy a well-earned break, Lyn. I hope you find plenty of time to celebrate the legacy that you have left to us all. We look forward to working with new APS CEO Frances Mirabelli to continue your work.

Warm regards,
Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer
 

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Applications open for consumers, carers from CALD backgrounds to join the new national multicultural mental health project

Mental Health Australia and project partners are calling on consumers and carers from multicultural communities to join an advisory group that will be a key source of advice to the national multicultural mental health project. The project represents a national focus on mental health for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and aims to aims to support service providers to improve cultural responsiveness and accessibility.

 

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Mental Health Australia is recruiting a new Administration and Project Officer 

Mental Health Australia has an opportunity for a passionate Administration and Project Officer who will be responsible for providing administration and project support to consumers and carers engaged in Mental Health Australia or our auspiced activities, particularly the National Mental Health Consumer & Carer Forum (NMHCCF) and National Register.

 

 

The WA Government released the draft Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Workforce Strategic Framework 2018-2025 for community consultation earlier this week. The framework aims to guide growth and development of a qualified, skilled workforce to provide high quality mental health and alcohol and other drug services for the Western Australian community. The framework is an important initiative toward supporting implementation of more mental health and alcohol and other drug community based services, part of the WA Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Services Plan 2015-2025.

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