RentRedi- Leader/Follower Relations
At RentRedi, work is allocated to smaller groups who specialize in certain areas. The ten or so employees are split into smaller teams such as marketing, tech development, and executive. These groups are given tasks to complete on a weakly basis, and they often meet virtually to get on the same page. From there, teams will break out and individually work on their tasks. This is similar to the work structure of a normal organization, but the nature of a small business keeps employees accountable and engaged with work every day. After a team completes their work, they report to the executives and the other groups each Monday in the general team meeting. At this point, they update the rest of the team on their progress, and what the team hopes to achieve during the upcoming week. What makes the culture of RentRedi and other small businesses interesting to me is the team aspect. Even if one person has questions or cannot complete a task by themselves, the positive culture encourages them to seek help from teammates. To me, this is a very important standard, and it starts with a positive example from leadership.
As such, I believe that there is a high degree of trust between executive leadership and the rest of the team, including myself as an intern. Teams are given important tasks throughout the week and given the appropriate time and resources to complete what they need to. At the same time, executive leadership still have influence and control over the operations of the company from top to bottom. They often will even help employees complete certain tasks. For instance, I was working on building a list of potential affiliates, and I worked with one of the executives to complete this, since he had access to more complex and efficient tools to find partners. As such, he demonstrated his trust in me and other employees to help the company, but also showed command and control over the process. I have watched this process and am excited to bring this level of attention and freedom to my professional life moving forward.