Aboriginal-inspired Circular Leadership Model may improve wellbeing and retention for Indigenous health workersCircular Leadership Model May Support Aboriginal Health Worker Wellbeing

Healthcare systems globally face workforce shortages, burnout, and attrition, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of experienced clinicians across disciplines. These pressures are particularly acute within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce, where culturally unsafe workplaces, limited support structures, and high workloads continue to affect recruitment and retention. This Perspective proposes an Aboriginal-inspired Circular Leadership Model as a culturally grounded and relational approach to strengthening workforce wellbeing, retention, and leadership capacity within healthcare settings. Drawing on Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing, the model integrates principles of kinship, connection, collective responsibility, storytelling, reflection, and shared decision-making. In contrast to traditional hierarchical leadership paradigms, circular leadership positions collective wellbeing at the center of leadership practice and emphasizes peer support, multi-generational learning, culturally safe mentorship, and community connection. This is a conceptual Perspective rather than a systematic review: the paper draws on Indigenous leadership scholarship, collective leadership research, and the healthcare workforce literature to discuss how Aboriginal leadership principles can complement existing approaches. Practical applications, including structured mentorship circles, collective wellbeing practices, and circular decision-making protocols, are presented alongside implementation considerations. The anticipated benefits of the model for wellbeing, retention, and leadership capacity are presented as hypotheses to be tested through the pilot evaluation proposed here, rather than as demonstrated outcomes. The model is offered primarily as a strategy to support and retain the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce; its potential relevance to the broader healthcare workforce is discussed as a secondary and as yet untested possibility.