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By Laura Hinkle
I’ve recently discovered how incredibly easy it is to find yourself disenchanted with college. Whether consciously or not, I, like so many of my peers, had fallen deep into the dreaded “sophomore slump”. My ambitions were slowly waning, and I started to settle for the bare minimum. I honestly didn’t realize how far I’d dropped into this dangerous mindset until this past week at the annual Naval Academy Leadership Conference (NALC). The conference’s theme of mentorship hit home in a way that was deeply personal and inspiring. As I type this on the plane back to Louisville, it’s hard for me to put into words how I feel. NALC touched me to the core, in a way that I can only describe as a recalibration of my perspective and aspirations.
Growing up, I’d never thought about mentorship as a formal concept. Finding true mentors has always been hard for me because I can be strong-willed and independent to a fault. I’ve always preferred to take the road less followed and forge a path of my own. If nothing else, this week I learned how crucial humility is for mentorship and leadership. As a mentee, I must admit when I need support and advice, and then take whatever tough love my mentor dishes out. Truly effective mentors give advice that is real and raw, realizing that the stories of the scars they bare can help others follow in their footsteps with only a few scratches.
Another important takeaway was that whether you’re seeking out mentors or mentees, you should be doing just that— seeking them out. Mentorship is proactive. It can be easy for leaders to grow disconnected to those below them in the chain of command. This is even more true when considering how most positions of leadership and power are held by white, cisgender men. Research shows that most of these men don’t feel comfortable mentoring those who have different identities than them, whether it be a different gender, race, class, sexuality, religion, etc.
In a fascinating workshop, two social psychology professors from the Naval Academy addressed this issue as it pertains to gender specifically. The divide between men and women in the workplace has grown even more concrete in the wake of the “Me Too” movement. While the movement has been empowering for women across the United States, it has also caused a backlash of false narratives from men that perpetuates their anxiety in engaging with women professionally. This has proved devastating for women, who face micro-discriminations at every level of professional organizations. The professors explained how one of the most effective cures to this is mentorship, as it completely changes the culture of an organization. When men in power are willing to mentor those who are dynamically different from them, the results are astounding. Companies are more productive and more creative in their problem solving, while employees report greater overall satisfaction in their career. As current FBI Director Christopher Wray put it, “Great leaders pull future leaders up with them.”
I truly appreciated the intersectional approach NALC took in addressing mentorship. All the speakers were incredibly inspiring and took the time to ask deeply personal questions. What is my source of inspiration? What are my life principles? What are my goals, both personally and professionally? As terrifying as these questions are for students like me who seem to be in a perpetual state of existential crisis, I’ve learned to face them head on, as they help me to be the best mentor and mentee possible. At the end of the day, NALC helped me to reconnect with myself. I am confident, driven, and strong— recalibrated to the core.
Laura Hinkle is a McConnell Scholar in the Class of 2022. She is studying political science, history, and social change at the University of Louisville.