Where the two-way street of mentorship accelerates growth
 | Kate Couture Vice President of Credit Mylo Mortgage |
 | Erin Dee COO InterLinc Mortgage |
 | Laura Hopkins Senior Vice President of Membership, Meetings, and mPower MBA |
Overview
Mentorship can be one of the most powerful ways to develop leaders, but it works best when it goes beyond advice and becomes an active, honest relationship. This session explores how trust, direct feedback, vulnerability and accountability can help both mentors and mentees grow — especially in high-pressure moments.
Erin Dee and Kate Hatcher will discuss how their mentorship relationship evolved while building a mortgage company in 2020 and why the strongest mentorship is often two-way. The conversation will focus on using your voice, receiving feedback, showing up authentically and creating a leadership culture where people advocate for each other as they grow.
Session Notes
Key takeaway
Erin Dee and Kate Hatcher said mentorship works best when it is honest, active and two-way. They said their relationship began under the pressure of building a mortgage company in 2020 and evolved into a partnership rooted in direct feedback, vulnerability and accountability that helped both leaders grow.
What leaders need to know:
- Mentorship requires trust. Hatcher said Dee helped her trust her instincts, use her voice and stop avoiding difficult conversations.
- The mentee has to do the work. Dee said she kept investing in Hatcher because she took feedback seriously, acted on it and showed measurable growth.
- Mentorship can be two-way. Dee said Hatcher also gave her candid feedback when Dee needed to show up differently as a leader.
- Authenticity is a leadership advantage. Hatcher said seeing Dee show up as herself helped her realize she didn’t have to fit a narrow mold to belong in industry rooms.
- Mentors should have people’s backs. Dee said leaders need to speak up when they see someone in an uncomfortable or unfair situation.
- Feedback should come from care, not criticism. Both speakers said hard conversations land best when they are grounded in trust and a shared goal of growth.
- Mentorship can change as careers grow. Dee said a mentee may eventually outgrow what one mentor can offer, and that can be a sign of progress — not failure.
HousingWire perspective
The discussion framed mentorship less as a formal program and more as a leadership discipline. For housing leaders, the takeaway is that talent development requires more than advice: It takes trust, honest feedback, accountability and the willingness to advocate for others. Strong mentorship doesn’t just grow one person — it builds a culture where leaders bring others with them.
Presentation Materials
Where the two-way street of mentorship accelerates growth
Download the full presentation from the session including charts, data visualizations, and key takeaways.
