Week 7: Looking Back

August 17^th marked the end of my internship at the MDAH. During my time at the MDAH, I worked independently on most projects with very little supervision.  Although the work is independent, the people I worked with were all hard working and dedicated people who created a positive working environment. This wonderful environment must have been created by leaders who could recognize and gather positive and diligent people in whom they could place their trust. Because the MDAH is such a large organization and each project is vastly different, the leaders at the MDAH must trust the judgement, hard work, and knowledge of each worker. The end result is a positive environment based on laissez faire leadership where the leaders trust the staff to complete their work without supervision. The lack of supervision does not mean the MDAH lacks leadership.

During my last week, the division for government records held an end of the fiscal year meeting where we discussed what projects needed to be processed and what order projects needed to be completed. The meeting consisted of discussions regarding the priority of each project, the size of the project, and any resources required to complete the project. During the meeting, each staffer would discuss the project they were working on and update everyone on their progress and the resources required for completion. The staff person working on the project would led the discussion. The meeting reflected the MDAH leadership style with each individual controlling their project and the leaders trusting their workers with minimal updates.