Theories in Action at UBS

One very important theory I have practiced and applied throughout my experience at UR is Servant Leadership. Servant leaders focus primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. Servant-leader shares power, puts the need of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. Not only have I learned about this in my Theories and Models class, but it is at the core of the Richmond Women’s Lacrosse team and we strive to practice it each and every day, on and off the field. I think a synonymous word to describe servant leadership is unselfishness. A really effective way of practicing servant leadership is through volunteering.

To apply this theory to my internship, I was very surprised to learn that UBS encourages employees to take time to volunteer. Here is their mission statement on their website: “At UBS, we believe that investing in our communities is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. Our business is aligned to serve the critical needs of our important stakeholders and we approach our philanthropy with the same mindset.”

There are a variety of different projects and programs that employees can choose to partake in, but one that I participated in was putting together kits to give to female veterans. Most of them were homeless and were struggling to get back on their feet since returning home from active duty. There were three stations, one was writing letters thanking and giving inspiration to the women, second was decorating fabric bags with stencils and filling them with essentials such as combs, tampons, chapstick, and hair ties, and the final station was making big felt blankets. Although it may seem inconvenient at the time to drop deals or be away from your desk for a day, it was an amazing way for my team and I to get together and do something for these veterans. Everyone from summer analysts to the head of our division helped, and it was a great way to not only do something meaningful, but build relationships and foster teamwork outside of the typical work day. This was one of my favorite days at work and it made me respect UBS even more as a company, but also see how servant leadership can and should apply outside of UR.