Leadership – Mental Health Commission

Creating Peer Management and Leadership Positions

Workforce development is not simply creating new roles but creating opportunities for these new roles and the system they work within, to thrive.

As per the National Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce Guidelines, as you progress to implementation, leadership roles and opportunities should be considered as part of career progression pathways. See also Career Pathways and Progression.

Having senior designated Lived Experience roles within your organisation’s leadership team in areas other than frontline work, such as Management, Governance, and Human Resources will contributes to more inclusive, flexible, resilient workplace culture that benefits employees and the people they are providing services to ^[1] When the values of the organisation and its leadership team align with those of staff, both peer and non-peer workers are less at risk of burnout and the organisation as a whole will benefit from a lower staff turnover. ^[2]

Benefits of Embedding Lived Experience in leadership

A workplace that supports Lived Experience (Peer) Workforces benefits from leadership that is accessible, responsive to reasonable adjustments, and committed to addressing power imbalances. The Western Australian Public Sector Commission has recently released a series of Leadership resources including the Leadership Expectations document that outlines that leaders must “remain flexible and open to the opinions, ideas and suggestions of others. You value access to different points of view, knowledge and experiences”. Flexible leadership requires having tough, honest, transparent conversations, and working in collaboration while holding strong professional boundaries with compassion. Further details on flexible leadership styles are available at the Growth Tactics website here.

This style of leadership within Lived Experience (Peer) Workforces provides choice and voice to workers, encouraging growth and supporting development at their individual rates. A flexible leader is someone who is experienced and self-aware and has developed the ability to swiftly switch between different approaches and styles to best fit the context and the people they are supporting. ^[3]

As with any workplace transition the addition of Lived Experience (Peer) workers to your leadership team and the implementation of different approaches to traditional staff management, requires organisation-wide support, education and training, and commitment to ensure success.

Benefits of Embedding Lived Experience Leadership Across the Organisation
Leadership function		Benefit or contribution
Policy Influence and Governance		Lived Experience expertise ensure policies are informed by real-world insights and uphold human rights, equity, and access.
Culture and Values Alignment		Embeds recovery-oriented, peer-informed, trauma-aware cultures across the organisation, reducing stigma and promoting staff wellbeing.
Strategic Decision-Making		Lived Experience perspectives guide long-term planning and service improvement, centring community voice and social justice.
Program Design and Innovation		Promotes co-production and innovation through inclusion of diverse knowledge systems and lived expertise.
System Accountability		Builds trust and transparency by embedding those directly affected by systems into their leadership and evaluation.
Support for Workforce Development		Senior lived experience roles mentor and model for peer staff, improving retention, safety, and confidence.
Community and Government Engagement		Ensures Lived Experience values influence service partnerships, advocacy, and systemic reform.

Embedding Peer Principles in Leadership and Culture

Peer Principles are deeply enshrined in the human rights and civil rights movements. ^[4] Working to peer principles means working from a values base and recognising the social determinants of health significantly contribute to the development of mental health and alcohol and other drug challenges, as well as influencing an individual’s ability to access services that cater to them. ^[5]

Principles of Lived Experience Leadership

Adapted from the Model of Lived Experience Leadership (LELAN, 2021):

Lived Experience leaders:

Centre lived experience – uphold peer values and recognise the strength in vulnerability.
Champion justice – challenge inequity, tokenism, and exclusion.
Mobilise strategically – build networks, foster allyship, and work toward long-term change.
Speak out and stand firm – communicate with courage and use story for impact.
Nurture collective spaces – foster community, support others’ growth, and promote self-care.
Lead change – reject the status quo, build alternatives, and reflect deeply.

This model emphasises leadership as both an individual and collective endeavour. It is not confined to position or title. ^[6]

Embedding Leadership at Every Level

Leadership should not be siloed to executive teams. Strong Lived Experience leadership occurs across all levels — from project leads to team coordinators, peer supervisors to governance advisors. The Leading the Change Toolkit notes that embedding lived experience inclusion at all levels ensures:

Meaningful participation, not tokenism.
Shared ownership of outcomes.
Reduced burden on peer workers to drive change in isolation^[7]

The Unique Context of Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Lived and Living Experience (LLE) Leadership

Lived and Living Experience (LLE) leadership in the Alcohol and Other Drug sector holds a unique place, distinct from mental health or other health service contexts. The alcohol and other drug sector in Western Australia has long been shaped by the leadership and expertise of people with lived experience of alcohol and other drug use. However, despite this deep history, systemic barriers continue to impact the recognition, participation, and advancement of LLE leaders in alcohol and other drug services. ^[6]

Key features of Alcohol and Other Drug LLE leadership, outlined in WANADA’s Understanding Alcohol and Other Drug Lived and Living Experience Leadership report include:

Historical Foundations with Ongoing Challenges: While alcohol and other drug services have often emerged from grassroots, lived experience-led initiatives, more work is required to increase LLE leadership positions, particularly at governance and senior management levels. There is an ongoing tension between recognising experiential knowledge and requirement for formal qualifications.
Diverse and Non-Static Experiences: The alcohol and other drug LLE workforce reflects a broad spectrum of experiences, including personal and family experiences, different substances, and regional and metropolitan contexts. Leadership models must therefore reflect this diversity and avoid tokenistic representation.
Stigma and Criminalisation: Unlike in other sectors, alcohol and other drug LLE leadership is impacted by the criminalisation of drug use and heightened stigma. These dynamics impact the confidence for workers to disclose their experiences and can undermine trust and safety within workplace environments and leadership structures.
Need for Collective and Inclusive Leadership Models: Effective alcohol and other drug LLE leadership requires participatory and collective leadership approaches that move beyond traditional hierarchies. Leadership must be embedded at multiple levels of the system, ensuring diverse LLE voices inform policy, service design, and governance processes.

For a comprehensive exploration of these dynamics and recommendations for supporting alcohol and other drug LLE leadership, refer to the Understanding Alcohol and Other Drug Lived and Living Experience Leadership report by WANADA.

References