Melissa Doman, M.A.
Organizational Psychologist, Author, Former Clinical Mental Health Therapist & Mental Health at Work Specialist
What do you do now?
I'm an Organizational Psychologist and I help companies, leaders, and individuals learn how to constructively and realistically talk about mental health at work.
Where did your career start?
I was a clinical mental health therapist that people spoke to about their struggles in private. I truly value those clinical experiences, especially around what I learnt about people, and what they didn't feel safe to share with others. It drove me to want to shift the narrative around mental health and mental illness in a larger way, especially at work. I knew I had to make an impact at the source - in the workplace.
Has there been a stage in your life where you first appreciated what great leadership looked like?
100%. It looked like: reminding me that it was normal to feel uncertain or nervous as I grew as a professional, that learning from experiences is priority #1, and humanizing themselves as the imperfect people they were (behind the leadership title) so that I didn't put them on a make-believe pedestal that shouldn't be there in the first place.
Do you have any examples of what you have done to develop yourself as a leader?
I've tried to be a thought leader that people can relate to. To give my community and clients education in a realistic and concrete way, because that's what the world needs most right now.
How do you think Leadership has benefitted you?
It's given me the confidence that I could be a leader one day too.