Week 2: Theories in Action

Week 2 was an exciting week for me as my internship began in person! It was great getting to know my team members face-to-face and see first-hand the culture of the group. I was impressed to see how excited people were to be back in the office, motivating me and encouraging me to be excited for work every day!

In response to how I felt after my first few days of working in-person at AlphaSights, I have chosen to discuss the charismatic leadership trait-based theory in this discussion post. The charismatic leadership theory is where leaders work to transform followers’ self-concepts and motivate their followers by linking intrinsic rewards. I have seen this theory play out in many settings.

First, my direct mentor has served as a charismatic leader to me throughout these first few days. He has been working directly with me to get me up to speed, always acting in a way that motivates me to see how specific actions could benefit me in the future. He has served as a strong role model for me so far, showing competence in his actions and skills, while articulating both his career and personal goals directly to me.

In addition to my direct mentor, I have seen the charismatic leadership style applied elsewhere. In a coffee chat with a manager on my team, she really motivated me by serving as such a strong role model. Although she expressed her high expectations for my performance and personal growth throughout this summer, she helped me set up goals for myself and motivated me to want to work. This truly is the charismatic leadership style in action because by showing me how successful she was and acting as a role model, I wanted even more to succeed in my role and at the company after our 30 minute talk. After talking with this manager, I was even more excited about my internship and the impact I could have on the organization as a whole.

In addition to these two specific leaders, other leaders throughout my onboarding process have showcased the charismatic leadership theory. In our orientation, we went through extensive training and spoke with many individuals, both young and old. One thing everyone did in common was that they used stories and anecdotes to help us envision the impact we could make within the organization. In addition, they all acknowledged the high goals they set for themselves and the high goals that they had for our group of interns, motivating not only me but all of my peers to want to work hard collectively for the organization. This style of leadership has proven to be very effective in my first few days, and I look forward to interacting with more charismatic leaders throughout my time at AlphaSights this summer.