Solving Problems/ Improving Leadership

This week has been difficult for me because of my uncertainty about the internship. My friends have been telling me that the company is overworking me and underpaying me and that I should quit and find a better one. I start to doubt if my characteristics really fit this internship questioning my ability to do sales. After hesitating for a while, I brought up my struggle to my team leader Leander, but I did not feel like getting the support I needed from him. Fortunately, I had a conversation with Emily, a relatively new team leader, whose team leader is also Leander. We talked about our relationship to Leander and the relationship between each other within his and other team leaders’ teams.

What I found really interesting about the company after this week and the conversations was that it was so highly dependent on individuals especially the team leaders. It is important for team leaders to motivate others and maintain a positive environment especially when they lead teams on streets. It is important for them to keep track of their own teams to make sure that everyone is on track and developing at their pace even after the first several training days. The reason that my relationship with Leander becomes distant is he has not been providing the support I need and keeping track of me. To make the company perform better, it would be helpful for Igor who’s now the owner to conduct network analysis learning not only the formal structure but also the advice network and the trust network. There should also be more opportunities for team leaders to learn about leadership. I would also suggest a system for team leaders and their own team members to evaluate each other so that team leaders have a better idea of what is needed by their team members at different stages and interns know better about their team leaders’ styles.