Letter from the Editor

A Military Spouse Renaissance - Out of Darkness Comes Innovation
by Jennifer Barnhill

“Leonardo da Vinci, the defining renaissance man and perhaps the greatest intersectionalist of all times, believed that in order to fully understand something one needed to view it from at least three different perspectives.” - The Medici Effect - Frans Johnansson

What does the Italian Renaissance have to do with the military? Maybe nothing. However, I believe military spouses are uniquely positioned for innovation. They live on the “intersection” of cultures and experiences --that and the European Renaissance also followed a plague.

In his book The Medici Effect, Frans Johansson explains that it is through the intentional juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated things that we stand to find the greatest number and quality of innovative ideas. Essentially, the less granular your knowledge about a specific subject, the more likely you will be able to see connections that others who are more embedded in a subject area or organization can not.

Instead of looking at the patchwork quilt resume of military spouses and instantly labeling them as “Jack or Jills of all trades” or resilient, instead, we should be labeled as Intersecionists.

More than Just Resilient

Many people like to call military spouses and military children resilient, but I believe that that word should be retired. Resilient implies that they reactively respond to difficulties put before them in a way that sets them apart. Why this is of course true, of both military children and spouses, it is somewhat limited in scope. For military spouses to find professional success in a post-COVID world we must rebrand ourselves. As a result of the pandemic, resilience is now something the entire world can list on their resume.

To compete against our civilian peers who have far fewer personal and professional disruptions we must therefore stop calling ourselves resilient and instead must focus on what we proactively do that sets us apart.

Civilians and military workers glean lessons from their personal and professional experiences, drawing on these memories and their education to inform their decision-making. Military spouses have a variety of life experiences that equip them to make innovative decisions. As employees rely upon our memories and past experiences when we problem solve. Those who are forced to move every two to three years have an abundance of memories to choose from when faced with new and complex problems at home or work. Our ability to pivot through these new experiences over the long term stands to set us apart more than just being comfortable with working remotely.

When lined up side by side with all things being equal, a military spouse holds an advantage, in that his/her lifestyle brings with it diversity of experience and thought. But it is up to us to pat our own backs and claim this skill set by rebranding ourselves.

Writing our own Narratives

Whether we know it or not, we write our own narratives about how our military lifestyle impacts our professional careers. If we feel self-conscious about our military-connected status it can significantly hold us back. This plays out most often in the interview process:

Negative Narrative

You want to be hired. You know that you will leave in two to three years. You wonder if you should tell them you are a military spouse. You don't know how to ask for the salary you want. You feel judged, so you take what you get.

Positive Narrative

I am a good employee and I bring a lot to the table. I may have to move, but I'll give 110% while I'm here. I have legal protections that prevent an employer from asking about my military status. I did my research and know what others in this job are paid and what I should ask for. I know my worth.

Instead of thinking of moving every few years as a negative, we need to rebrand ourselves as bringing an “outside” perspective, with our diverse experiences giving us the ability to find intersections, similar to a consultant, who pokes holes in established processes and procedures, because they have similarly seen different ideas applied across industries.

Military spouses balance a lot. We know what it means to serve and the impact of this service. But when we own our “military spouse narrative” we can embrace the fact that data tells us that diverse experiences are assets, not liabilities.

Military spouse “intersectionalists” elevate diversity, produce more innovative and successful outcomes, and allow employers and employees to write healthier narratives. Diversity of thought and experience is central to a post-COVID world. This must be strategically encouraged, because, who knows, among us might be the next DiVinci.

Jennifer Barnhill is a freelance writer with a focus on military family advocacy, Navy spouse and mother of three. Her reporting has been featured in Military.com, The War Horse, We Are the Mighty, Military Spouse Magazine, Military Families Magazine and TheMilitaryWallet.com. She is the Director of Public Relations for Partners in PROMISE, Editorial Content Manager for TheMilitaryWallet.com and serves on the National Military Spouse Network Storm the Hill 2020 Steering Committee. She is currently studying at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in pursuit of her Master of Public Administration, with a concentration in nonprofit management.