Volume 49, No. 12, July 13, 2006

WELCOME WISDOM: LEUT Andrew Pepper is mentored by CMDR Mike Stock on issues involving career development, professional and personal development, job performance and personal goals.

Photo: ABPH Andrew Dakin.

By Annie Casey

A new coaching and mentoring program has been launched by Navy to assist officers below the rank of captain with career planning, professional and personal development.

Sponsored by Director General Navy Personnel and Training, CMDR Nigel Coates, the Navy Officer Development Program (NODP) is a significant Sea Change initiative.

The Navy-wide coaching and mentoring program is managed within NPT by the Director of Workforce Management, ensuring a standardised approach to coaching and mentoring in the RAN.

The format of the NODP differs from traditional mentoring in that it has both a coaching and mentoring component - mentorees (participants) are paired one-on-one with a coach, not with a mentor.

“The beauty of having a coaching component is that the participant is confident they can discuss whatever they like with their coach and it won’t negatively affect their career because the coach comes from outside,” said NODP Coordinator, CMDR Rod Robinson.

Coaching is drawn from Reserve officers with prior RAN service, but most importantly, they are not in the participants’ chain of command. This provides participants with both an informed and independent third party to discuss issues impacting on them. This independence has been cited by participants as a significant benefit during the trial mentoring and coaching programs and is also a necessary aspect of goal setting.

The coaches are involved with participants for a six-month period while mentoring is encouraged to continue beyond the six-month program. The sessions between coaches and participants typically focus on achieving career milestones, combined with enhancing personal performance, workplace challenges and work/life balance.

The program is self-paced, ensuring the workload for participants is manageable with the support of their coach.

The mentoring component is performed by permanent officers from each professional qualification, with a charge/minor command qualification, a good reporting history and a genuine interest in contributing to the development of others.

The NODP is not a remedial program and does not replace the formal chain of command for supervision and support.

To become a participant in the voluntary program, email details to navyofficer.developmentprogram@defence.gov.au or for more information, contact CMDR Rod Robinson on (02) 9377 3702 or visit http://intranet.defence.gov.au/navyweb/sites/DNWM/

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