Another week, different leadership
This past week proved to be another dynamic week at the office. We had one of our biggest events yet as a company for Here. today at The Brunch Market, a local market showcasing local vendors in Richmond. We were to have a booth set up showcasing our newsletter while encouraging visitors to subscribe to the newsletter and purchase some of our merchandise. My week was filled with responsibility of getting everything ready to go for the event.
There was a greater deal of pressure associated with this event because this was the first time we really had the opportunity to share our merchandise in front of a larger crowd. This pressure began to make me notice more how particular my supervisor can be. As mentioned in previous posts, she did not have full time employees until this summer, so there has been a learning curve for us all. More than ever this week, however, I noticed her stepping in more and more to edit my work and check every last detail. This made me begin to question her style of leadership because until this week she really emphasizes that she wants me to learn by experience. It was difficult to keep up with what she was looking for exactly, and I began to feel somewhat defeated when I felt as if I wasn’t completely hitting the mark on what she was looking for.
When the day of the event came, however, I saw her leadership style change and she allowed me to pitch the newsletter to customers more often than she. The event was extremely successful as we sold a good amount of merchandise and gained an incredible amount of subscribers during the day.
It seems that perhaps you may be right, that your supervisor may have some issues relinquishing responsibility because she’s run the company herself up until this summer. But there are clearly times where she lets you take the lead (e.g. talking with customers, acquiring followers, etc.). If you were comfortable enough talking with her, you might share with her that at times (and you could use this example you detailed in this reflection) you are not sure what she is looking for and ask if she can give you insight, etc. Perhaps she might recognize that she’s not communicating effectively, or perhaps she might realize she needs to provide more details in advance of the events.