Government/Public Sector Managers/Executives/Administrators
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exemplary leadership practices, successful mentoring relationships, and advancement among women in the United States Navy from the perspective of the women Protégés.
METHODOLOGY The sample was comprised of the number of women that process through the United States Navy’s leadership courses during the four-month data collection period. The number of participants for this time frame was 251 out of the total of 287 women that were available during this study (87% response rate). The individuals that participated in the study were women that attended the United States Navy’s Leadership Training Courses. Participants completed the Mentorship Self-Assessment (MSA) survey and the Leadership Practices Inventory as well as providing demographic data describing both themselves and their organizations. The MSA survey measured the areas of (a) whether leaders throughout the organization had mentors during their career, (b) whether the relationship had positive results, and (c) whether specific results (delineated separately) were obtained as a result of the relationship. The average participant was 29 years of age and had served for eight years. Most (63%) of the organizations had some sort of formal mentoring program. A majority (77%) of the participants reported that their mentors were women. Forty-one (17%) indicated that their mentor was located outside the US Navy. The vast majority (84%) revealed that their mentor assisted them with both professional and personal issues.
KEY FINDINGS Enabling and Challenging were the two most frequently engaged in leadership practices, followed by Encouraging, and the Modeling and Inspiring. There was a significant relationship between the self-reported exemplary leadership practices of women Protégés as measured by the LPI and their perception of having participated in successful mentoring relationships within the US Navy. There was a relationship between the perception of women Protégés of their mentoring relationship and their advancement within the Navy while controlling for time in service. This indicates that perceptions of the mentor/protégé relationship increased with increasing pay grade levels after controlling for length of service. No significant differences were found in the relationship between the mentoring pairs that were same gender as compared to across-gender mentor/Protégé pairs.