Supergirl’s Cat Grant best mentor a girl could have
If there’s one thing that is most talked about today, it’s the challenges that many female bosses face. Although #ladyboss and #girlboss have seeped into modernday conversations and pop culture, many still don’t know how to cope with being both female and a boss at the same time and how can we blame them? It’s not as easy as it looks.
We turn to Supergirl’s Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal), media mogul and CEO of CatCo Worldwide Media. Although she usually comes off as cold and demanding — the typical ice queen — there is more to her character. Let’s find out what these are and what makes her the best fictional mentor a girl could ever have.
As the head of a media conglomerate and a single mom, Cat has learned a lot about how to succeed both professionally and personally. She may push her employees to work hard but all she wants is to present the best product for the success of the company. She’s also made it clear that she cares more about her son more than anything.
When Kara/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist of Glee) asked how she keeps it all going, Cat gave the most practical yet helpful advice on the show: Juggle two balls before you juggle three. Basically, what Kara needs to do is to get her personal life under control first before she can add the responsibilities of being a superhero to her list of things to do. When she has both those aspects covered, she can tackle DEO investigations as if it were a cakewalk. Definitely advice anyone could live by if we do say so ourselves.
Because let’s be real here, it’s not about piling on the responsibilities, it’s about mastering the few that you have before adding new ones. Doing this ensures that you only give your best in everything. And isn’t that what we’re really after?
There’s a fine line between mentoring and coddling, and many female bosses sometimes blur the lines. But being someone’s mentor doesn’t mean you have to hold their hand all the time. In the show, most of the people who are looking out for Kara are trying too hard to protect her rather than making sure she gets better and that is far from what we want. Cat is not afraid to tell Supergirl the cold hard truth. When she wasn’t doing her best as a superhero, Cat was the first to point it out which made Kara re-evaluate how she was handling things, as expected of the glamorous and wise Cat, telling it like it is.
Cat gets her name wrong, calling her Kira instead of Kara. And Kara lets her except for a few times when she asserts herself. This is when she gains Cat’s respect. For someone in the competitive fields of media and superhero-hood, Kara needed to develop a backbone and stand up for herself. Cat sees the need, and she pushes Kara to be strong. And you know what? Look at Kara now, strong and confident, as a superhero should be.
The relationship between mentor and mentee is largely dependent on faith — faith that things will get better. Cat sees Supergirl’s flaws and she points it out, hoping that it will push Supergirl to succeed. Now that is what we call, tough love.
All of the points above would not have made any sense if Cat herself was not strong as a person. She gets confidence from who she is — her talents and her grit. In fact, her girl speech in the pilot episode packs some major #CareerInspo. So much so, we couldn’t help but cheer and clap from our end.
“What do you think is so bad about ‘girl’? I’m a girl. And your boss. And powerful and rich and hot and smart. So if you perceive Supergirl as anything less than excellent, isn’t the problem you?”
And that right there is what makes Cat Grant the best mentor ever.
Catch more of Cat’s inspiring career moves in Supergirl with double episodes on the fastest growing channel in the Philippines, Warner TV starting May 31 at 9 p.m.
Warner TV is available on SKYcable Channel 77, SKYcable HD Channel 197, Cignal HD Channel 119, Destiny Cable (Digital) Channel 77, Destiny Cable (Analog) Channel 80, and Cable Link Channel 30.