By Vicky Falcón
NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Do you have what it takes to be a mentor?

Being willing and able to listen is one of the most important qualifications for a mentor, according to Kal Leikach, NAVAIR’s Deputy Assistant Commander for Logistics and Industrial Operations.

“Being a mentor requires good communications skills, both listening and articulating,” said Leikach. “You need to listen to (your protégé’s) circumstances, get their input – their feelings, their concerns – before you can connect what they say with your experiences, knowledge and situational awareness.”

Leikach’s credentials include many mentoring relationships (both official and unofficial) over the course of nearly 37 years of government service. Presently, he is officially mentoring six individuals through the NAVAIR Leadership Development Program and additionally shares his time and insights on an informal basis with approximately a dozen others.

According to Leikach, an ability to carry on an open and honest dialogue is key to gaining trust – another essential factor in being a good mentor.

“Mentoring is about dialogue between two people who are sharing thoughts and ideas,” he said. “The exchange needs to be frank, truthful and respectful all at the same time to maximize benefit both to the individual and the organization.”

Though Leikach had no formal mentoring relationship in his early years within NAVAIR, he did have an informal mentor in Dr. Allan Somoroff, NAVAIR’s Deputy Commander.

“I have worked directly or indirectly for Dr. Somoroff over the past four decades,” Leikach said, explaining that both men began their careers in structures engineering at the Naval Air Development Center, Warminster, Pa.

“At first I learned from the technical questions he asked in meetings, briefings and through other on-the-job situations,” he said. “Now, as senior leaders, the scope of our discussions is broader – and I’m still learning from him in terms of strategic approaches and behaviors at an institutional level.”

Leikach is a firm believer in the value of mentoring and encourages protégés to seek him out.

“I urge them to get as much advice as they can,” he said. “My part is to put a different filter or interpretation on the landscape that is in front of them so that they can make informed decisions.”

“If something I said helps them – if they can leverage it professionally or personally – it’s wonderful,” said Leikach. “Mentoring can be a very rewarding experience for both parties and a strong contributor to the health of the organization.”

A new NAVAIR Mentoring Program is combining multiple independent mentoring initiatives from throughout the organization (both military and civilian) into one new process.

Mentor participation, though, is key to the program’s success. If you are willing to share your knowledge and insights through a fulfilling partnership for personal growth and development, become a NAVAIR mentor. You can register as a mentor and access more mentoring information under the Career Development community of interest on MyNAVAIR, https://mynavair.navair.navy.mil/mentoring.