Week 6: Comcast

The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory has definitely played a significant role throughout my weeks at Comcast. The LMX Theory is one that focuses on the dyadic relationship between the leader and follower, and I’d like to take a look at this theory’s impact on my summer from two different angles: team and department. From my Voice Analytics team perspective, the relationship between myself as an intern and my boss has been somewhat limited. As the first stage of the LMX Theory (Validation of Differentiation) states, leaders form some high quality and some low quality relationships with their followers, and some of that has to do with time constraints. I wouldn’t say my relationship with my boss and team members is low-quality by any means, but because everyone works remotely, it can be hard to build meaningful and transforming relationships with my team members. I see my boss about once every two weeks, and between then, he is pretty hands-off. I love engaging in non-work-related discussion with coworkers and managers, as I believe it rapidly boosts group cohesiveness and helps to get everyone on the same page. I haven’t had many opportunities to do that within my team.

My department, however, is a completely different story. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my department is very cross-functional. I work closely with the other five teams, and as a group, we are all very close. Much of our department’s cohesiveness can be accredited to the many happy hours and parties in and outside of the office. These opportunities have allowed me to make meaningful connections with other team leaders and managers. As a result of these casual interactions, I am able to tailor my work to each unique personality that I have been exposed to in a relaxed setting. As the LMX Theory suggests, better, higher quality relationships increase organizational performance. Because my overall department is so close, in-office efficiency is extremely high. Certain teams know what another team will need from them before they are even asked. The flow and pace on the floor is really fun to watch. I certainly wish I was able to capture that same energy for my own team, but the distance has thwarted relationship growth. As a result, our team is more susceptible to internal miscommunication. Moving forward, I’d love to schedule some more one-on-one time with my boss when he’s in town. I think that could really boost communication and overall performance within our team.