Steven Wheatley, Specsavers: Guiding Greatness

The Mentor of the Year award recognises a Manager, Team Leader, or Mentor who has provided exceptional support to an apprentice throughout their Intec Programme. The standout winner and our first-ever Mentor of the Year is Steven Wheatley from Specsavers.

Steven has played a fundamental role in apprentice Kirby Raper’s development. His transformational leadership style, along with his valuable support, advice, and guidance, has allowed Kirby to grow exponentially in her role. Kirby, also an apprenticeship award winner in 2021, has progressed from apprentice to Clinical Manager at Specsavers in less than four years.

“Steven took me on as an apprentice nearly five years ago and has been nothing but supportive ever since. When I first started at Specsavers, I was shy, quite negative, and lacked confidence and self-belief. With Steven’s help, I’ve really come out of my shell, and I’ve been able to achieve everything I have.”

“When Steven first found out about the Intec leadership apprenticeship Specsavers were offering, he put me forward. Throughout the course, he’s supported me whenever I needed him and always gave me time away from the shop floor to ensure I could complete my work on time.”

“Steven helps me grow every week, which has helped me become a store manager, achieve a Distinction in my Team Leader Level 3, and move on to the Level 5 Operations Manager programme. He’s pushed me beyond my comfort zone, but he sees my potential and wouldn’t do this if he didn’t believe I could achieve it.”

Kirby initially perceived Steven’s management style as quite cold, but as she progressed through the programme, she came to understand how his constructive feedback has challenged her and how deeply he believes in her abilities.

Steven comments: “The Chimp Paradox was a ground-breaking book for me. I recognised a lot of it in Kirby’s approach to life, so I bought it for her at Christmas. I’ve always wanted Kirby to realise she can’t always be ‘the best friend’—there’s a need for tough love. The key is always being able to justify your feedback. I give Kirby the freedom to do her job because I trust her, but any self-inflicted issues, I’ll give her feedback on. She knows I’ll always justify my comments, positive or negative… that’s the relationship we have now, and it’s a two-way process.”

“My main support for Kirby has been helping change her mindset. From my own experience, I know the transition to Manager can be mentally tough. The best learning experiences I had were, unfortunately, from ‘mistakes’. My goal for Kirby (and all my staff) is to ensure they have a better support network.”

“Our store has around 40 staff, many with long tenures and a lot of experience. As a young Manager, Kirby often felt like, ‘Who am I to tell them what to do?’ I made it my mission to eradicate Kirby’s imposter syndrome and constantly reaffirm why I made her Manager and that I trust her to do the job. To help her grow into the role, I made her accountable for our eight-person clinical team. To empower her, we focused on the basics: having ‘a one-minute chat daily’ and ‘getting into the habit of saying thank you’—simple things that knock down mental barriers quickly and are definitely good habits for business.”

Assessor Sally Furnish witnessed first-hand how Steven’s approach has helped shape Kirby into a confident, competent Manager: “He’s given her advice and directed her in finding her own path. Although he guides her, he doesn’t dictate, acting as more of a mentor and coach. She feels motivated, respected, and knows she’s a crucial part of his succession plan.”

“Steven cares about his staff and is the epitome of a transformational leader: inspirational, democratic, supportive, and motivational. He’s certainly no pushover, but his style, though direct, is also very democratic. He listens to his staff and ensures he gets the best out of them.”

Congratulations, Steven!