- First published on 6 June 2020 on LinkedIn Pulse.
I have many friends and peers who ask me jokingly how they can get their own “super interns”. I hate to break anyone’s bubble, but the truth is super interns are made and not born, just like any other superhero.
All interns are on a Hero’s Journey. For many, it may be the first of many “calls to action” to go on a journey into the unknown.
What is the hero’s journey?
Watch any movie, read any book, and the story of a hero follows a certain arc. The hero’s journey is an epic cyclical quest undertaken by the hero. Through perils and trials, they come out of that journey forever changed. All of us, interns or not, are on our own hero’s journey if we choose to embark on them.
The known and unknown world
Central to every hero’s journey is the concept of the known and unknown world separated by a threshold.
Every hero is in their comfort zone, where their existing skills and abilities are sufficient for them to remain there in safety.
Well, that is until one day they hear “the call” and they are now faced with the option to heed it.
The call
The struggle and journey of every hero begin with their decision. Should they leave the warmth and safety of their comfort zone to go after a bigger adventure into the unknown?
The refusal of the call
For interns, this can take on the form of having to take ownership of problem-solving independently. The temptation beckons them to take a more comfortable path. They may refuse the call by continuing to rely on their supervisors instead of navigating tasks on their own.
During The Call, they meet a mentor and it is with the mentor’s help, bestowing the hero with gifts that give him or her the confidence to cross the threshold into the unknown world.
Who is the mentor?
For the intern, this could be a manager or people they meet while interning at your company. It could be someone at school who helps them make sense of their role by equipping them with supplies, knowledge, and direction.
However, the mentor in the hero’s journey doesn’t necessarily mean a person.
It could be:
- Knowledge from their previous internships or experiences
- An article, website or a learning resource they found online
- A map of how things work in their role that sparks an understanding of the challenges ahead
Problems and perils
Now feeling more confident with the right tools and knowledge, the hero takes a leap into the unknown. They cross the threshold into a path of problems and perils.
Trial and first failure
Thinking they’ve got it figured out, the hero will plunge head-first into the first trial. They fight the dragon of a problem with all they’ve got. Just as they’re going in for the win, they’re pushed back by a devastating blow and they face their first failure.
For the intern, nothing feels more exciting than executing the plan they’ve made for a challenge they’re facing, especially after being inspired by a source of knowledge. But the first mistake they make or failure they face is excruciating and it might result in a retreat into the known world.
Meeting allies
It is here that the intern on their hero’s journey makes allies: an intern who has a different experience or skillset, a senior who lends them a hand, a manager who encourages them to continue training and return to the fight after a well-thought root cause analysis that equips them with a deeper understanding of how to tackle the problem.
Growth, leveling up and the first success
Now motivated by the help of allies, the hero has grown and sees a level up of skills. (Is that SQL and a neat new Excel trick that intern is using to solve a task you’ve given them?)
He or she approaches the problem once again and this time, wow, they slay it. The taste of success is so sweet.
The grand trial
Little does the intern know that the first success is only just the beginning and that a Grand Trial awaits. He or she previously faced problems in the form of tasks, but now this trial of fire requires them to manage an entire project. Now the risk of life and death is real.
As a manager, this is where you need to realize that the intern needs to leave behind their old self to embrace their new self in this grand trial.
The project will be on the brink of going up in flames. There will be so many near-death encounters involving miscalculations, overlooked requirements, or that all-too-familiar time management explosion when everything looks like it’ll all go sideways. You may guide, but you should be careful not to take over the reins. The hero needs to continue holding onto the reins to be a hero. This needs to be their trial.
“Aha” moment of revelation
And here comes the turning point. The “Aha” moment of revelation as the hero realizes how they can turn things around and rises reborn. As a manager, this is where your heart soars and you cheer.
Every single problem your intern has faced on the journey thus far, all the shared lessons and small trials leading up to this single event, it all makes sense to them now. The ego of thinking they’ve figured everything out has been killed with the old self, and now the new self seeing how everything is connected emerges. The intern has become a super intern.
Transformation
The transformation takes form for the super intern in newfound wisdom, a strong sense of self, or knowledge to share with others. Sometimes all of the above.
But you know what, as a manager, this is where you need to realize that once the intern becomes a super intern, they now have a choice to return to the known world and stay there or to continue on in the unknown world.
Some super interns may now be ready to take on the training of other interns at this point, sharing their knowledge and now playing the role of ally or even mentor that provides the call to action to other new interns. In the process, they enter a new unknown world, now seeing things from a different perspective.
But in some cases, the unknown world may no longer be your company and what it has to offer, or it just may be. But the decision remains in the hands of the hero, your super intern.
The super intern has been made through 99% of their own effort and determination to heed the call and continue on no matter how hard. The remaining 1% from the tools, guidance, and buddy systems (allies) you’ve set up as their manager/mentor.
Now with this Hero’s Journey in mind, how will you create an intern development plan differently?
This article is dedicated to all former and current super interns I’ve had the pleasure of working with. You too are part of my hero’s journey.
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