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Dan Mabon, originally from Scotland, is a Director of Nursing in Australia. He shares with us some amazing personal insights into his career in management and leadership. Some must-read tips and pearls of wisdom are within this article.
A bit about you
My name is Dan Mabon, and I am the CEO and Director of Nursing at Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital in Melbourne—an independent hospital specialising in mental health, alcohol and drug addiction, and day procedures. I was recently appointed as a council member for the Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA), representing small, for-profit independent hospitals, with around 40 hospitals in my electorate.
One of my proudest achievements has been the once-in-a-career opportunity to open a hospital from scratch as the Director of Clinical Services for a greenfield hospital in New Epping. I was also honoured to be invited to present as an industry leader at a nursing and executive conference.
I have been a nurse for 13 years, working across medical, HDU trauma, and surgical specialities before transitioning into management roles. Interestingly, I “fell” into nursing after my sister needed a friend at university—and I figured I had nothing better to do. It turns out this was my absolute calling, and I’ve never looked back. It’s true what they say: nursing is the best and most privileged role in the world.
Finding my path in nursing
Nursing was never a vocation for me, having worked in a nightclub for several years. I was never academic at school, but a visual learner, so I felt academia was out of the realm of possibility. I had the chance to get into university to study nursing and snapped it up. After qualifying, nurse jobs were hard to find in Scotland (very different to now). I managed to obtain a role in a large medical ward with 120 beds split across an entire floor in a hospital built in the 1900.
It was very sink or swim, but as I developed, I started to question why I was doing things. Rather than just hang fluids, I would question WHY those fluids, WHY that rate, WHY is the patient’s blood abnormal? This led me to critical thinking and critical care. I worked in the largest HDU in Scotland, spanning over 80 beds and saw some of the worst situations, from a helicopter crashing through a pub to gunshot wounds.
from a helicopter crashing through a pub to gunshot wounds.
This forced me to work under pressure and make decisions quickly. Something that has stayed with me throughout my career. My matron was of high standards and of “old school nursing”, which I have always kept as the basis of my nursing. I visited a friend in Melbourne on holiday and loved every part of it. My husband and I quickly realised that this dream could be a reality.
Rising through the ranks
Due to my HDU experience, I started managing an HDU in an ortho/ urology ward 5 1/2 years ago. And so my Australian career began. It still blows my mind that 5 1/2 years ago I was an ANUM and now I have developed and opened an entire hospital and now manage a hospital in all aspects as CEO/ DON.
I used to think I was not ambitious but opportunistic. I have always been motivated and enthusiastic and when opportunities come along I jump at them. My career has been diverse, and overall, that makes me a better nurse/ manager. As an intake coordinator for critical care, I had to manage an 80 bed HDU/ ICU/ CCU unit as well as be the nurse in charge of the ward and have two patients.
This still sounds incredible to manage, but at the heart of every nurse is to do their best and support in any way they need to. Healthcare has always been an environment of change and pressure so nurses/ support healthcare workers always step up to the challenge. It’s important as a nurse who wants to develop that we put our hand up to tasks and projects to show that interest. Be the person who stays in someone’s mind as a positive role model. I believe that this has been the basis of my success in my career.
Building a High-Dependency Unit
When I started my role as NUM in a medical ward, part of my role was to develop a four-bedded room into a functional HDU. Having never completed business cases, written policies/ pathways, VMO (visiting medical officer) engagement, this was an absolute mountain to manoeuvre. Healthcare staff can’t know everything and shouldn’t, but should always know their limitations and resources. Having worked in HDU, I knew the basis of what was required and then everything else I found out.
Nurses have to be adaptable and mould their ways as new processes and evidence-based practices appear. This allowed me to develop my knowledge and also have some humility to say “I don’t know that one, but I will find out”. I used to work better when I had a structure, i.e. processes and policies, but I have learned to create that structure like I did with HDU.
Stand back, work out what I want to achieve, break it down into tasks, make a list, work through that list, and develop those tasks into little branches and complete those tasks. Eventually you will have completed the overall basis, but it is important to stay open to feedback. Not all feedback is negative and can come from a place of learning.
Establishing a brand new hospital
My biggest achievement so far, and still blows my mind, is that I got the opportunity to establish a brand new state-of-the-art facility. Again, this has all come around because I put my hand up for opportunities. As ANU,M I was given the chance to be Acting NUM, then I got NUM, from NUM I got Acting DCS, then I got DCS and so on.
The two months before I was super excited and buzzing to get started. I started, and the novelty of establishing this magnificent hospital quickly wore off with the realisation of responsibility. Like any mountain I have been faced with, I stand back, work out what I want to achieve, break it down into tasks, make a list, work through that list, and develop those tasks into little branches and complete those tasks.
A big learning point for me has been to accept help. I don’t have a huge ego or want the credit for everything, but I always want to achieve as much as I can on my own. On this task, I couldn’t and had to accept feedback and support as much as I could to remember that the basis of this hospital is patient care. I never thought I would enjoy writing policies as much as I did, and have enjoyed realising that I am pretty good at juggling many tasks at the same time.
Having now been in the CEO role for just under a year, I am reflecting constantly on my career pathways and decisions I have made and am comfortable in the paths I have chosen. It is hard to walk away from something I worked so hard to build.
Mastering Communication Skills
My communication skills have always brought me forward in life and career. I came from a very working-class, financially poor and hard, traumatising background of family addiction and abuse. I have always said that the best people come from fire. I learned to adapt my communication skills to get out of situations, and as I started my career in Hungry Jacks and then onto silver service and nightclubs, I learned I could adapt my communication to situations, classes of people and scenarios.
I think everyone should work in hospitality, as it teaches us how to de-escalate, use humour or command attention. I believe I am an effective communicator because of my adaptability to people. I have seen my voice, tone or words used change depending on the person to either provide effective management or gain trust with vulnerable patients.
Communication as a Nurse Manager
Communication is one of the most important skills a nurse or manager can have. I loved the method of distraction. I believed, as an HDU nurse, that in any situation, using conversation or memory-evoking questions to patients could dissipate a nervous, scary or aggressive situation, and I became skilled at using conversation to distract and connect to patients.
As I elevated through the ranks, I would extend my skills of conversation and would always try to lead a team with positivity and humour and create an environment of learning and camaraderie. Starting in any role as a manager or executive, staff initially have a fear that you are going to be harsh or critical. They have come from previous bad managers or experiences of tough management, so they come with preconceptions on how you will manage a team.
They will either rebel or become introverted until they work you out, so it is important to set your team up with the right image from the very start. Throughout any of my managerial roles, I have worked out quickly what communication skills different staff require. Whether a direct approach, challenging poor behaviour, positive reinforcement or providing key responsibilities to maintain their focus or engagement, it is important to again ADAPT to the staff you are speaking to.
An important learning point I gained as a manager was to step back, reflect and take self-criticism on my own communication skills. We are all human, and sometimes our emotions are heightened for whatever reason and can come out in a negative way. We must use these reflection skills to realise the method isn’t working and adapt the skills to get the best outcome.
With any information as a manager leading a team, we have to be consistent, transparent, supportive and active listeners. Staff can lose interest or motivation to drive any task or development if they feel we are not all working towards the same goal.
Balancing Enthusiasm and Motivation
Interestingly, I have never seen myself to be ambitious but motivated to achieve. I love what I do, and motivation just comes naturally from that. I have always been outgoing and enthusiastic, and that’s helped my career in moving up the ladder.
I encourage everyone who wants to develop to put their hand up for all opportunities. Even if you are not given the chance, you will be remembered for future tasks that will elevate your experience and career. It is important to recognise we are role models to our staff- all the old cliches actually make complete sense: “the standard you walk by is the standard you accept”; “the fish rots from the head first”. I always believe that if I create an environment where negative behaviour and unacceptable language do not fit, then staff will start to become part of an integrated team. Creating a safe space for all races, genders or orientations starts by challenging unacceptable behaviour.
Cultivating a Positive Culture
I always believe I was moulded to the standards of care by my matron in HDU back in Scotland. As I look back, I ensure I remember the impression my manager gave me and hope/ try that if I were looked back on, it wouldn’t necessarily be with negative memories, to those that mattered, of course.
I have an “old school nursing” frame of mind, and by that I mean looking at a patient holistically, but I am also aware of image. As a nurse, my desk was always tidy, I never ate at the desk or sat on my phone, and I ensured I was fully aware of my patient and any potential risks that could occur.
As I developed as a manager, I try to instil these standards by challenging staff respectfully on patient care, processes that need to be changed, and learned behaviours that can be seen to have a negative impact on the workspace. Everything I do, I do with positivity and humour, though, and promote positive reinforcement. Celebrate great tasks or excellent care and share with the team on recognition and rewards.
Diverse Healthcare Settings
The theory of nursing universally will always remain the same…..to look after the patient to the best of your ability and escalate deterioration early. Early recognition means early intervention.
There are a few differences between the countries. Although I was an ANUM in Glasgow, the process of career development is incredibly different. DCS, DON and CEO roles don’t exist and take an extensive amount of years to achieve with very minimal available. I never thought in a million years I would get the ability to become DCS and CEO.
Private Healthcare in Scotland is also for the very affluent and is unaffordable to many of the population. It was motivating to see a healthcare system where private, public, acute and primary all work together for the same goal in Australia. These differences certainly provide a positive healthcare system in Australia, to which I am proud to be part of. But at the crux of it, evidence-based nursing and leadership all remain the same, either in Scotland or Australia and that’s what I love about healthcare.
Future Aspirations
As previously mentioned, I am opportunistic and enthusiastic, so it is hard to pinpoint where my career will remain or go. Every year, I set myself a work milestone. This year, I wanted to be asked to present at a conference to which I was proud to be asked by APHA in Darwin, on the viability of private healthcare and have further been asked to speak at the Short Stay Hospital Forum in Melbourne.
I feel I have found my home in management and hope I achieve it well and continue to do so. I enjoy places that allow me to improve and develop in whatever that may be- structurally, culturally or with new processes. Healthcare is a small world in Australia and I continue to meet people I worked with so I ensure that I maintain a good relationship and reputation with as many of my peers as I can.
Challenges and Learning
In one of my roles, I started to see a change in my self and own mental health and had to decide whether career development was more important than my spirit. It was a hard pill to swallow (nurse pun lol) to walk away from something I thoroughly enjoyed, but for several reasons was starting to defeat me. I recently read a quote that resonated with me:
“The peace I feel without your presence in my life is worth being the villain in your story”
By that I have no bitterness but had to understand that I may not have come out of that situation with a good reputation but personally knew the reasons why I had to. It gave me better resilience to know that I made the right decision and learn from it.
Advice for Aspiring Leaders
The best advice I received was simple:
Not everyone will like your style of leadership or like you
For a long time I wanted to be everyone’s friend and sometimes it cut deep when I wasn’t but I learned that I am there to be a leader and to do a job. I had my own life outside work, an incredible support network and for sanity it is important to keep those two separate. When you start to blur the lines between personal and work life it is hard to maintain the structure or respect you have earned.
Philosophy of Care
Anyone who works with me knows I love personal, positive quotes and have an entire section in my notes on my phone dedicated to them. For my leadership and healthcare, my quote is:
“Don’t walk in the world looking for evidence you don’t belong, because you will always find it. Instead, leave a place in a better state than you found it”
