Leader/Follower Relationships- Week 2

The workload during my second week at the University of Minnesota has increased drastically. This is primarily due to the high level of autonomy provided to the followers, the students, by the leaders, the coordinators and faculty at the Humphrey School. While we only have class 3 days out of the week, professors expect us to be diligent and stay on top of the mountain of assignments, projects and research both assigned to us and self-directed. While the professors occupy the more formal leadership role, each class has a Teaching Assistant who works more closely with the students, is closer in age, and serves in a more informal leadership role.

In addition to the high level of autonomy given to us, the students, we are also assigned into various work groups to conduct research and apply the policy analysis techniques we are learning in class to various issues facing the public. For example, I have been assigned to two policy groups; one group is focused on the implementation of tip credits for minimum wage in Minnesota, while my other group is looking at expanding access to mental health services across the state of Virginia, with a particular focus on rural vs. urban disparities. In terms of leader/follower relations, one area which it can be improved is by communicating assignments and expectations earlier, rather than giving us such a short window to complete our tasks. Our professors often do not release required material until 2-3 days before the assignment is due and coordinators often add experiences and events to the schedule with a days notice. Better communication could work to reduce any last minute scrambling by the students which may have a significant effect on our quality of work.