A Week in the Books

During my first week working with Women for Women International, I have witnessed one of the best exchange of skills, conversations, and resources between leaders and followers in an office setting. I think a big part of this relationship has been the dedication of all the individuals working at WfWI to the vision and the mission of the organization. The mission of the WfWI is committed to creating a better world for women, so they can reach their full potential. As a result, the staff, the volunteers, and the interns are encouraged to advance the mission of the organization specifically by working with different departments. The work that WfWI does is structured by four departments: the Executive office, the Global Program ( Support/Grant Management team), the Marketing, Development, and Communications team, and the Global and US HR team. The executive office is led by the Chief Executive Officer, Laurel Adams, and the chief of staff who directs the whole organization. The three other teams receive orders from the executive office and pass it through their chain of command. As a result, this impacts how work is directed. Some employees are autonomous and self-directed, while others follow standardized procedures passed to them by the director of their departments. Those who are independent and self-directed still come together with the rest of the team to communicate and check in making sure everyone from the different departments are on the same page. While there is a vertical dynamic of power between the followers and the leaders due to the way the departments have been organized, however, looking at the physical space of the office does not give you this impression. The office is open, and everyone shares the same space. No one has their own room that is divided by walls and closed by doors, but rather everyone has a desk with a clear glass that is transparent and open. When you enter the office, you won’t be able to tell where the CEO of the company may be at or who the front-desk person may be. Everyone in the office can see each other; the CEO, the interns, and the interns freely interact with each other. While there are formal titles for each individual, there really isn’t a sense of power status.

Furthermore, the physical space encourages transparency, reliability, and an inclusive environment. Those who are in senior levels of leadership work closely with people who are not in formal leadership roles. On the first day of my internship, Amavi from the HR department made me feel welcome and comfortable by holding a mini-orientation for the interns. The interns were able to connect with each other by taking part in icebreakers and sharing about their backgrounds with each other. Then, the interns were given a tour of the office and met every single employee present that day. The organization also had welcome signs and greeting cards created for the interns at their designated desks. My direct supervisors had a handwritten welcome card placed on my desk and even took me out for lunch. During this first day, I was able to get a good sense of the type of people who I will work with and the work of the organization as a whole. The formal employees took the time to meet and speak with the interns and share about the work they do. The next few days, I was asked to sit in meetings with some of their major partners. When my supervisor addressed to me in the meeting, she never used the word “intern,” but instead, she referred to me as one of her “colleagues.”; I was blown away by this. While there is the vertical division of power, the sense of team building and the dedication to the mission of the organization takes priority before the power dynamic. The leaders of the departments make sure that the teams have a sense of direction and that the required tasks are completed without taking away the authenticity, experience, and perspective of any of their followers. I am excited to work at a place that tends to embrace authenticity, respect, inclusivity, and teamwork.