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in a supporting leadership role like that of the OSH practitioner who must balance their independence of professional advice to lay managers and colleagues – and thus discharge their legal ‘advisory’ duty – with their position of increasing seniority within their organisation (and among their peers), which comes with its own challenges. Forcing a path through this nuanced minefield is difficult enough for us all – so why do it alone?’
Let’s get talking
H OW TO. . .
BE THE BEST MENTOR It’s not just about sharing experiences and passing on skills: mentorship is a reciprocal relationship that benefits both parties and the industry as a whole. WORDS LÉA SURUGUE
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our years into his OSH career, Blake May, compliance manager at Transport for Wales can count on the support of not one, but two mentors. He has kitted himself out with guidance and dependability in a profession where instability can be the norm. Starting out as a graduate trainee at Virgin Media, Blake credits the support and experience of these mentors with helping him transition into his subsequent roles. They have allowed him to progress in his career, whether in gaining new technical skills or navigating political and social situations in the workplace. In a rapidly changing work environment, the skills required from OSH professionals are diverse and complex, and increasingly so. Lorenzo Vinsentin, group head of environment, health and safety at Arriva Group, and one of Blake’s mentors, says: ‘Mentoring is an activity that is relevant to all areas of work, be it manual, technical or professional. None more so than
However, a mentoring relationship is not merely about working on specific skills with a more senior professional and navigating the complexity of OSH issues. It’s also about getting the right person to talk to about challenges that can’t always be addressed with colleagues. Blake’s second mentor, Donna Cleaton, group environment, health and safety policy and assurance manager at Arriva Group, points out: ‘When I started my safety career 22 years ago, mentoring wasn’t really discussed and it was pretty much seen as a line manager role. I was typically the only OSH professional in my organisation for the first 10 years of my career so my line manager, while a great line manager, wasn’t a great safety mentor. IOSH is a great place to start to link up with other likeminded professionals.’
Reducing the isolation This idea of ensuring that OSH professionals are not isolated is echoed by Alex Shannon, a Chartered IOSH Member living in Dubai and working in Oman. With 25 years’ experience, he is now mentoring an IOSH technical member, an Italian professional in London, allowing him to benefit from his in-depth knowledge of health and safety as
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