Mentoring champion earns Peter Rule inclusion honour

Lieutenant Mark ‘LJ’ Littleton, serving in a voluntary capacity as a governance member and key facilitator of the Royal New Zealand Navy Mentoring Programme, has modernised its delivery, developing digital platforms, interactive tools and feedback systems that make it easier for personnel to connect, grow and support each other.

His improvements have lifted engagement, strengthened trust and created greater opportunities for development across the fleet.

He had been part of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) mentoring programme in 2022 and brought what he’d learnt from that experience with him to reinvigorate the Navy version.

“People are my passion,” he says. “I have a mentor, and that means I get to be the best person I can be. I’m frequently a mentor and through the programme, I can help other people to be the best versions of themselves.”

Mentoring is coaching over a long period of time, usually involving catch-ups once a month or more frequently, but not in the sense of two people from the same trade or background.

“At the moment, I’m mentoring an engineer, a trade I know nothing about. It’s all about helping people learn, rather than teaching them. We provide the time, we listen, we ask good questions and we allow someone to process their own thoughts and come up with their own solutions.

“I mean, who doesn’t like being listened to? Who doesn’t like being valued? That’s what we do.”

He’s particularly excited about the mentoring digital resources he’s created. “It makes things as time-friendly as possible for busy mentors. If I was to leave, anyone could continue the work.”

Before posting to his current role as Information Manager, Fleet Personnel and Training, LT Littleton was an Area Commander for the New Zealand Cadet Forces (NZCF). He continues that relationship by volunteering his time to share the same mentoring tools and practices with NZCF officers and cadets.

He has delivered more than 500 hours of mentoring and training and is on track to become the Navy’s first European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) accredited coach. EMCC is a leading professional body that sets global standards for mentoring, coaching and supervision.

LT Littleton and his governance board are exploring how the RNZN Mentoring Programme could achieve EMCC Global accredited status, which the RNZAF programme has achieved.

“What I’m hoping to achieve by getting my accreditation is inspire other people. People will say, ‘if LJ can do it, I can do it.’”

The Squadron Leader Peter Rule Memorial Award is named after the man whose distinguished 20-year-career in the Air Force from 1955-75 ended because homosexual men were banned from serving. He committed suicide in 1987.

The award celebrates the individual who has most positively influenced the inclusive culture of the New Zealand Defence Force.

NOTE: The Peter Rule Award recipient will also be a nominee for the NZDF’s Person of the Year Award later this year, which recognises exemplary professionalism, dedication and commitment to their field.