Week 2 at VADCR: Leader/Follower Relationships

At the end of my second week, I moved to Richmond so I could continue this internship in person. For the most part, I will be working on the same project as last week, but with the addition of field work. I haven’t talked with a lot of other people at the VADCR besides Dr. Heffernan, but from what I’ve gathered, work is mostly structured by department. The Division of Natural Heritage has its own projects and employees, but may collaborate on projects with the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, for example. Within the DNH, employees are for the most part autonomous and self-directed. I think there is a lot of collaboration with higher ups on what projects to work on, but the employees are biologists, ecologists, etc., and know how to best put an idea into action. I mentioned this in my post last week, but there is that same notion of independent work in what I’m working on. In speaking to other Environmental Studies students who have worked with Dr. Heffernan, they also said he had a very relaxed attitude about project work. If someone worked better under conditions where there was more supervision and structure, this way of leading might not work very well for them, but I don’t mind working independently and taking initiative on some decisions. I honestly feel more productive when I can make my own work schedule, rather than having an allotted amount of time where all you do is grind out work. I’m still working the same amount of hours, but I feel that I perform better. The issue with working remotely is setting boundaries between what is work time and what is not, because any time can be work time, and I do feel that pressure to be productive, even if I’ve already worked the amount of hours I needed to in a day. Interactions with coworkers and leaders can also feel impersonal, because they’re not in person. I’m glad that I can do some work in person now, so I can have that feeling of personal connection.