Develop Leaders Early

Based on the observations and interactions with my colleagues at the site, I have not seen any significant problems that need to be addressed. People are engaged and seem passionate about the work they do. This engagement is shown by having a strong understanding of the mission and the vision of the organization. This applies to all departments, the leadership, advocacy… and the fundraising team. For example, the fundraising team can present and communicate the “business” strategy of the organization in a way that is inviting and encouraging to new donors and partners. They can persuade those interested in contributing to the work of the organization by sharing stories of the women who have attended the program and let the donors know that their contribution is unique and makes a difference in the lives of these women. Further, the leadership team leverages communication with the team through interactive, daily, and creative events. We usually have departmental meetings in which current organizational initiatives, progress, and obstacles are discussed. We also have all staff meetings in which outstanding employees of the months are recognized through a token of appreciation. These insights about teamwork and collaboration positively impact the environment and make it an inviting place to work.

However, even in the strongest of the organizations, I still do believe there is room for improvement and leveraging high impact leadership practices. As an intern, who is majoring in leadership studies, there are a few strategies and concepts that I would share with my site. The first suggestion would be to have leadership development as one of their goals.  There is leadership development for the women who we serve, but I don’t think it’s an essential goal for the employees working in the office. As part of this, I would encourage to invest in developing leaders early. For an intern who is working there for about 10 weeks, it takes 2-3 weeks to feel comfortable and share the strengths of their leadership with the organization. The same concept applies to a new employee in which it may take them at least a couple months to adjust to the new environment and identify themselves as potential leaders. So, if one of the goals for the organization is leadership development, I think it should take place as soon as possible. Developing leaders early is essential, especially if an organization would like to keep the same people around for a while. I think there should be opportunities such as programs and training that enable employees to become better leaders. These training and programs could come in the form of well-developed webinars, conferences, or classes, aimed to refine one’s leadership skills.

My second suggestion would be to create opportunities for the employees and interns to interact with current leaders. I understand that most of the time the CEO of a company has to appear in events and conferences because they are the face of the organization, however, allowing employees at every level to be exposed to leaders will enable them to gain confidence and see how leaders interact and think. Of course, there may be costs and expenses associated with taking your employees to conferences, but I do think it’s essential for employees to have a firsthand experience of how leaders carry out themselves. This way, the employees also don’t feel like they are just at the background doing the work but realize that they too are welcome to participate in the conversations (they are both invited and getting asked to dance at the party). The last thing that I would suggest to my site would be to continue to teach the employees and interns how to network. It’s essential for different department employees to know and communicate with each other outside of just weekly or all staff meetings.