When skilled mentor Leanne Elder met mentee Julia Linde, Leanne says “we focused on building a sound rapport right from the get-go.”  

“Building this strong base to work from allowed us to focus on the challenges at hand quickly, while building a high level of trust that carried on right through the whole programme,” says Leanne. 

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CURIOSITY AND AN OPEN MINDSET​

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Along with an extensive background in healthcare, business and IT, Leanne says she also brought a naturally strong sense of curiosity to her mentoring role.  “My mentoring practice is based on being endlessly curious, having an open mindset, being willing to discuss the hard topics and personally being willing to learn and grow during the process,” says Leanne. 

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“I believe that building trust, clear communication, authenticity and rapport are key to developing any good relationship and particularly a mentoring one. I also believe that working with a person holistically is important to understand the whole picture.”  

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Leanne was genuinely interested in Julia’s story and committed to assisting her mentoring goals. On hearing more about Julia’s important work, it is easy to understand why.  Julia leads Gender Dynamix Aotearoa, an innovative not for profit, taking a preventative approach to help transgender people navigate their communities and gain better access to services to assist their wellbeing.   

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Passionate about the kaupapa, Julia explains why it is so important to transgender people, their whānau and communities, and why it is something we should all take note of.  “Trans-people are very likely to experience isolation and discrimination. 40% of all trans-people will attempt suicide at some time in their life. Gender Dynamix exists to help people face problems before they become too big,” says Julia. 

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VALIDATION INCREASES CONFIDENCE​

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With a background in IT and healthcare, aviation management and psychology, Julia already had a lot of knowledge and signed up for mentoring to increase her leadership confidence.  Initially Julia was looking for confirmation that the group was on track with their governance and confidence that what they were doing was right. Julia and Leanne met once a month. “Our meetings were always very casual, so I felt supported and our communication was easy,” says Julia.  

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“The thing that surprised me most was that it was such a great match. We are both very similar in personality. This helped so much and made communication simple between us.” 

“Leanne guided rather than directed me. For me, it was more about checking my thinking. Was I going in the right direction? To have that validation through the programme gave me strength and motivation.” 

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Julia says she learnt a great deal from her meetings with Leanne who not only acted as a sounding board but also challenged Julia to develop a more realistic perspective.  “Initially I had high expectations of achieving everything at once. Leanne challenged me in a gentle way. I learnt to be a bit more patient!” says Julia.  

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BROADER NETWORKS INCREASE SUPPORT​

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Leanne also encouraged Julia not to attempt to do everything herself and to broaden her networks. “It really built my confidence and doing the work became less isolating.”  “It was about learning to let go and let other people

in,” says Julia. Encouraged by Leanne’s advice Julia took on volunteers to help with the many activities the organisation was taking on, including its support groups.  

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Moving forward Julia is confident about the opportunities ahead and is looking

to develop intentional peer support and create a community that

self-services.  Ultimately mentoring helped Julia gain the sense of stability

the organisation was looking for.  “I would highly recommend this mentoring

programme,” says Julia.  

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“I really enjoyed working with Julia and seeing her triumph and grow with her

organisation,” says Leanne.  When the programme came to an end last year

the pair decided to keep meeting and their ongoing relationship continues to

provide support and value. 

 

 

Leanne Elder 

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