WHAT
LEADERSHIP
ava by Kate C
MEANS
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TO ME
hen I was a student at Berwick, leadership meant Student Government, Honor Committee, and academic reputation. Upon my graduation in 2010, I had grown weary of that leadership paradigm. I appreciated Berwick and all its nurturing community had done for me, but I felt more than ready for a fresh perspective and a chance to edit my identity in ways not permitted by a class of about 65 students, many of whom remembered me as a teen with braces and an unfortunately triangular haircut.
whose words informed my own thinking. It was through these meaningful bonds forged over study sessions, beers, heated debates, and office-hour discussions that I grew into some sense of self-awareness too. I developed a healthier and more understanding relationship with myself than I had in the past. I got close to people who showed me my weaknesses. With their help, I trained myself to see how I came across to other people. I grew comfortable putting my hand up and unapologetically sharing opinions and (almost) equally comfortable knowing when it was best just to listen.
College, I decided, would be a selfish time for me. I studied what I wanted. I picked my favorite professors and followed them, even when it meant taking a class I wouldn’t have considered otherwise. I spent my time with the people I wanted around me and quickly shed friends who proved to not truly understand the meaning of the word. Sometimes I attended the heady evening lectures, and other times I opted for pizza with my roommates. I never regretted my decisions either way.
When it came time to graduate from college, I again felt ready to move on to something different, though I felt largely unprepared for the workforce. I didn’t want to enter a wasteland of menial administrative tasks, but I didn’t have much in the way of marketable skills. Despite this, I stood staunchly by my liberal arts experience, positive that I had grown tremendously in the last four years and optimistic that somebody, somewhere, would appreciate that.
I focused on relationships, but not necessarily in a LinkedIn, networking kind of way. These were relationships with my friends and peers, with my professors, and, more abstractly, with the authors I read in class
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First came a cross-country road trip and several weeks in Southern California plagued by malaise and uncertainty, followed by a stint back at home, where I freelanced, networked, and actively pursued the attention of HR departments everywhere (with varying
success). Never once in an interview was I asked in any great detail about my GPA or coursework or extracurricular involvement. Don’t get me wrong, I participated in my few carefully selected activities and research opportunities, all of which helped me to stand out on paper, but the questions asked of me during the job-hunting process leaned in a different direction. Potential employers wanted to know the following: Was I confident in entering a new industry? How would I adapt? Could I think creatively? How did I come across in an interview and relate to other people? What had I learned about myself from past experiences? How persistently did I follow up on potential job opportunities? Could I hustle on my own without anyone holding my hand? And who with a good reputation could vouch for me? Two months into a six-month internship with a company in Washington, D.C., I was offered a job working in digital media strategy, the position I wanted from the beginning. I had worked hard, sure, but the real reason I was hired, I found out, was that in one meeting I caught the attention of a company executive who noticed that I didn’t carry or conduct myself “like an intern.” This was in part because I spoke up at the meeting to offer strategic insight and because I participated in a joking conversation. After hiring me, my new boss added with a smile that he wanted me on his team because I had the nerve to give him a hard time. And now, here I am. Half of my income goes toward rent, and every day I entertain ideas of running my own company, being an award-winning writer, and preferably both. I am very much at the bottom of the proverbial totem pole and I don’t think what I’m doing now will be my career. And yet I am humbly confident in my current position. Why? Because I have spent the last few years seeking out and creating environments that have allowed me to learn myself. Beginning to learn myself has, in turn, engendered a kind of self-leadership that positions me for more opportunities to lead others down the road. I believe there are precious few “wrong” career choices that a twenty-something can make, and that the most interesting paths are those that ramble. So, may we all get a little lost, take time for ourselves, and strengthen our most genuine relationships, for leadership cannot always be captured on paper. Rather, it can live in small moments and is cultivated from within, manifesting outwardly in our posture, our presence, our day-to-day conversations, and the ease with which we are simply and proudly ourselves.