How Leaders and Followers Interact and Make Decisions

This summer as I prepared to begin my internship I knew that COVID would dramatically changed the manner by which leaders and followers would interact at Asurest. It would be more difficult to meet with individuals in person and therefore the dynamics of the workplace would be altered. I was nervous that I would lose opportunities to learn from leaders at Asurest and miss out on any advice they might be able to offer me about the industry. However, Asurest quickly adapted to this changing workplace environment and preserved communication between workers despite any distance. This altered dynamic was especially clear within the direction of each employee’s individual work. Leaders at Asurest felt comfortable allowing employees to work fairly autonomously, choosing to assign flexible project deadlines and daily check ins instead of following standardized work procedures. I felt as though this symbolized an element of trust between leaders and followers since they clearly trusted them to accomplish their work in a prompt manner without constant supervision or monitoring. Standardized work environments All employees worked as a team in order to be able to successfully continue the business in such a challenging environment. Nevertheless, this team had varying levels of responsibility when it came to making decisions for Asurest. Large scale decisions were made by higher management. As an intern, I was still able to submit opinions and ideas for smaller scale ideas to still be a part of the process. For example, the initial process of obtaining new clients was the responsibility of my site supervisor, while I was able to attend meetings with clients and then ask questions and suggest ideas for how to best serve the client. This example demonstrates how at Asurest, I could still have an influence on the organization. I was proud to be able to submit my ideas, even though I was an undergraduate and an intern. I was concerned coming into the internship that I would be unable to submit my own opinions because I did not have a law degree, but Asurest was a comfortable environment to ask questions and pose ideas. That environment would not have been possible without the healthy dynamic between leaders and followers on a day to day basis.