Week One: Leader/Follower Dynamic
The leader/follower dynamic at PwC’s public sector advisory practice has turned out to be far less rigid than I anticipated before starting my internship. Since it is such a large company, individual employees mostly interact with their team and the other teams within their sector. For example, I am working on the public sector health and benefits team, but not everyone on that team work on the same accounts. During my first week, I interacted with employees whose titles range from associate to director, and no one behaved exceptionally superior to anyone else. The physical layout of the office also prevents strict divisions between levels: no one has an assigned desk, and the only individuals who have offices are partners. Every intern is assigned a “coach” who serves as a mentor as well as an engagement director to ensure that we have work to do. However, in an office this large, interns definitely have to make themselves known and put themselves out there to offer up work. The office culture allows interaction among everyone, and if someone is interested in engaging in certain projects, its encouraged that he or she speaks up. Everyone has a lot of freedom as to how they do their work; for example, as long as I work forty hours per week, I can determine my daily schedule myself. There is a lot of freedom and trust that we will do our work well and on time, and I appreciate that I do not feel like I’m being bossed around or babysat.
Sounds like you and your fellow interns just jumped right in and that the organization is interested in actively engaging you in the work, the culture, etc. You’ve provided a good overview of the collaborative, seemingly non-hierarchical structure, the physical structure, etc. Seems you’ll get the opportunity to observe how decisions are made departmentally; hopefully you’ll get some sense of how they are made at the sector and more senior levels as well. As you continue, I would encourage you to think about the ways in which those who do not hold formal leadership roles exhibit leadership (if they do); how the trust is developed (even with a brand new intern like yourself) that individuals are left to work so autonomously, etc. The more specificity you have with your reflections, the easier it will be to complete assignments this fall.