Promising Practices: Triple M—A Coaching and Mentorship Program for Public Health Leadership Development

Abstract

The Triple M (Mobilizing Meaningful Mentorship) program is a leadership development initiative at the public health branch of the Regional Municipality of York (York Region Public Health) that uses individual and team coaching and mentoring strategies. The Triple M program consists of one-on-one mentoring, stretch assignments, a Triple M challenge, team coaching and LEADS seminars. Triple M has the following benefits (a) organization-wide and cross-departmental connections, (b) application of leadership concepts and theory to a practical stretch assignment, (c) guidance and support from mentors to navigate challenges, and (d) the formation of the next generation of public health leaders. The lessons learned from this initiative include (a) that additional time is needed to apply program learnings during stretch assignments and (b) that adequate protected time is required to actively participate in the mentorship component of the program. The next steps for Triple M include (a) exploring ways to increase the duration of stretch assignments and (b) introducing an online platform to promote accessibility to participate in the program.