Lincolnshire Management: Week 5

I have just concluded my fifth week at Lincolnshire Management, and only now can I really see how much this internship has taught me and allowed me to grow. Starting out at Lincolnshire, I had zero professional experience, some general knowledge about what private equity entailed, and a few assumptions about the kind of work that I would be doing during the summer. After spending five weeks creating LBO and DCF models, analyzing prospective deals, and sitting in on meetings, I believe that I now have in depth knowledge of the industry. Interning at Lincolnshire has taught me everything about how to act and feel confident working a professional environment, from emailing mangers and making phone calls, to taking on bigger projects and holding my own meetings.

This week at Lincolnshire, my boss was out for a few days and left me without any guidance. Although it was nerve wracking, I decided to take initiative and ask one of the managing directors (MD) at Lincolnshire for something to do, rather than just sitting at my desk twiddling my thumbs. The MD assigned a task unlike anything my boss had given me before, and due to his busy schedule he wasn’t around to answer many of my questions. I was also intimidated by the MD, and as a result I felt embarrassed to have so many questions about the assigned task. Subsequently, I had to solve every problem that I encountered by myself. Whether it was looking through online resources, Lincolnshire modeling templates, or asking other interns for further guidance, through trial and error I was successfully able to complete the assigned task.

Through this experience I learned that Lincolnshire needs a way for employees to communicate with each other in a more effective and less intimidating way. I believe that this gap in communication can be improved through leadership and sensitivity training. I know that it would be extremely beneficial to both interns and lower level employees, if we were able to use the MDs and other executives in the office as a resource for information and guidance,without the fear of taking up their valuable time.