Women in Drinks Mentoring Program grows leadership pipeline

It's been another amazing year for The Drinks Association's Women in Drinks Mentoring Program as it seeks to grow the leadership pipeline in the drinks industry. 

Now in its second year, the program aims to help promote and develop women for senior leadership roles while building a culture of inclusion.

The program was again facilitated by Serendis Leadership Consulting and attracted a high calibre group of participants, facilitating mentoring relationships between professional women in middle to senior management roles with more senior leaders and decision makers.

In 2018, mentors and mentees from Australian Vintage, Bacardi Martini, Brown Forman, Campari, Casella, Coca Cola Amatil, Lion, Coles Liquor, Diageo, Moet Hennessy and Pernod Ricard took part.

"I am thrilled to see the drinks industry’s ongoing engagement and excitement for this program," said Program Director Bianca Havas. "Organisations that participated last year continued their involvement, while we also saw some large organisations joining for the first time. The more diversity of organisations and people involved, the better the program so we were extremely pleased with the participation this year.

"Through the program we created a community of people who are committed to building a culture of inclusion within the drinks industry, starting with their own personal leadership and we aim for this to have a ripple effect. It takes time and courage to reflect on oneself as a leader and the participants on the program have displayed enormous humility and commitment to this process, with most already seeing the rewards of their efforts. Inclusion is hard but the rewards are certainly there when you begin to develop awareness and shift your behaviours and habits."

Bianca Havas with Casella's Mark Churi and Women in Drinks Chair Jennifer Collins at the cocktail finale of the 2018 Mentoring Program

Feedback from both mentees and mentors was incredibly positive.

Among the comments from mentees:

>> "The advice I received from the mentoring program helped me look at my career differently. I took on a new role as a result of the conversations I had with my mentor."

>> "I now have greater focus on my leadership journey. I am generally more confident and particularly in situations where I felt nervous previously. I now have more connections across my organisation and have started to build them outside as well."

Mentors also praised the program:

>> "I found the program beneficial for myself on reflecting on my leadership style."

>> "Diversity is a challenge, but inclusion is more challenging! Lots of personal insights into my own leadership and opportunities for development in that space also."

Havas also shared her personal highlights from the program: the annual panel discussion with four senior executives and the new Inclusion360 tool. 

"The insights from the panel session were great as the panellists revealed there is not one path to leadership," she explained. "Some described taking risks and seizing opportunities while others were more planned. The panellists talked about what they have learned over the years and the important role that mentors and sponsors played in their careers.

"The second highlight was the new Inclusion360 tool and debrief we added to the program for the first time. Participants were invited to take Serendis’ Inclusion360 survey, which measures one’s leadership impact through the lens of inclusion.

"Participants rated themselves against nine dimensions of inclusion and then invited their peers, direct reports and senior colleagues to rate them on inclusive behaviours such as mental agility, psychological safety and transparency for example.

"The tool was an opportunity for mentors and mentees to see where their strengths and blind spots might be in relation to leading inclusively. Often the impact of our behaviours may be different from the original intention so this tool provides clarity and awareness around one’s inclusive leadership capabilities, strengths and areas for development."

The Women in Drinks Mentoring Program has demonstrated the importance and crucial impact that mentoring can have on an individual's career. The access to a different perspective and the feedback of a senior leader from another organisation is a unique opportunity for participants. 

The Drinks Association is already seeking feedback on the direction the third year of the program should take. 

"I am very much looking forward to meeting the new cohort of mentors and mentees next year as I find working with the drinks industry personally rewarding," Havas said. "People are keen to learn and are very open to the process of the program which makes my job enjoyable. We will be enhancing the program next year and making a few changes but we won’t be announcing those until we open for applications in February 2019."

Pictured main: Sharlene Foote (Moet Hennessy), Gemma Molihan (Coles Liquor), Irene Bell (Lion), Lisa Warfe (Coles Liquor).