Celebrating International Women's Day with Mel Wilkey: A Journey of Leadership and Authenticity
On Thursday, March 6th, the NWJCC team gathered for an informal session to mark International Women's Day 2025. The highlight of the event was an inspiring talk by Mel Wilkey, NWJCC’s Director of Commissioning for Specialised Services, who shared her leadership journey and insights from her doctoral research on "The Imposter Phenomenon in the Workplace."
Mel took NWJCC colleagues through her career path, starting from her university days, through various roles in customer service, project management, and leadership positions in both the private and public sectors. Mel's discussion was both honest and enlightening, covering several critical aspects of leadership and personal development.
As well as discussing the challenges of being a woman in leadership, particularly in male-dominated environments, and the pressure to adopt masculine traits, Mel highlighted the importance of bringing one's authentic self to work and the dangers of "deep acting," which can lead to burnout and stress.
Mel's searingly honest conversation with the team covered:
• Speaking Truth to Power: The importance of being honest and transparent in leadership roles.
• Modelling Behaviours: The impact of demonstrating the behaviours we wish to see in others.
• Embracing Opportunities: Being brave in taking on new roles and recognising the growth potential in every experience.
• Compassion and Honesty: The value of being compassionate and honest in difficult conversations.
• Self-Reflection: The importance of self-reflection and the value of 'action learning sets'.
• Authenticity: Bringing our true selves to work is crucial for long-term well-being and success.
• Recognising Talent: The importance of acknowledging and nurturing talent among colleagues.
• Managing Imposter Syndrome: Understanding that imposter syndrome is common and can be managed through support and self-reflection.
• Seeking Support: Using mentorship, coaching, and peer networks to build confidence and navigate challenges.
• Aligning Values: Ensuring NWJCC Team’s personal values align with those of the organization and striving to create a supportive and psychologically safe work environment.
Stacey Taylor, Interim Chief Commissioner at NWJCC said: “We’re really grateful to Mel for sharing her leadership journey and experience with us. The session was a great success, with attendees appreciating Mel's insights and experiences.
“The session was a good opportunity for us - as a newly established organisation that is still ‘forming’- to think about how we approach our stakeholder relationships and the commissioning of services with and on behalf of NHS Wales.
“Having shaped and adopted our organisational values and behaviours in the last few months, it was a helpful prompt of how we reflect on our behaviours and the impact these have on ourselves and each other, as we embed these values into our new organisational culture. This is particularly important for us as we strengthen our stakeholder relationships, working on behalf of, and with, colleagues across the system, facilitating regional and national integration for commissioning services for the people of Wales.
“In our pursuit of our vision: to be ‘the Centre of Excellence for Collaborative Commissioning’, and our mission: ‘to contribute to the improvement of the health and care for people in Wales’, we continue to develop our cultural competencies on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) agenda, which we have already made good progress on. These informal sessions for staff allow us to consciously apply it in our daily interactions with colleagues, patients, and stakeholders to ensure we are delivering the best for the people of Wales.”
You can listen to a podcast featuring Melndiscussing Imposter Syndrome here: Top Takeaways Tuesday: Leadership Evolutions, Imposter Phenomenon and Culture Shifts.