Leader/Follower Relationships at the Charlotte Observer’s Magazine Department, #2

The relationship and trust levels between my stand-in “leader” while Caroline, my boss, is out on maternity leave is very strong. My stand-in “leader” is Celeste Smith, who is serving as a ghost editor for SouthPark Magazine in Caroline’s absence. I email Celeste my articles on the deadlines that Caroline had set for me, and she will either email me back admiring the work I had just submitted, or send back some edits for me to look over. She has also been assigning me other shorter pieces that are fillers for empty spots in the magazine. She told me that I do not have to feel like I have to accept these minor tasks, but that she sends them to me because she knows she can count on me to turn in a well-written article with a short turnaround time. 

I trust Celeste in terms of communication and responsiveness, as it never takes her more than an hour or two to respond to one of my emails. Even though she has a full-time job elsewhere, she is always on top of everything. Celeste used to work in the newsroom at the Charlotte Observer, which is how Caroline got to know her and thus trusted her with standing in as editor for SouthPark while she was gone. Because Celeste used to work in a newsroom, she understands the importance of deadlines and communicating with writers, hence why she is always so quick to respond to my emails when they contain questions. And I’m sure she is also always quick to respond to make up for the fact that she does not work in the office and cannot provide any hands-on assistance to me, the intern. I have only met Celeste once. It was during Caroline’s last week, and Caroline wanted go through some article topics and deadlines for upcoming issues with her. Celeste seemed very eager to help, and wanted to do everything she could to make sure SouthPark ran as smoothly as it would if Caroline were still there. Even though we only met once, Celeste and I do have this strong, trusting relationship, and I’m sure I have her eagerness, communication skills, and ability to always be on top of everything to thank for that.