PSEG Theories in Action II

During my 10-week internship with PSEG, I had a few interactions with the Senior Vice President of Corporate Citizenship, where State and Government affairs falls as well as Corporate Responsibility (the two teams I was a part of this summer), who has exhibited authentic leadership. Authentic leadership by Banks et al. states that one has self-awareness and knowledge of one’s motives, feelings, desires, as well as one’s strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, authentic leadership includes unbiased processing with objectivity and acceptance with respect to one’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as minimal denial, distortion, or exaggeration. I believe that the Senior Vice President, Rick, exhibited authentic leadership because he was not only aware of his strengths and weaknesses, but he expressed what they were and asked the interns on the State and Government affairs team to help him in areas where he lacked knowledge. Rick was set to attend a leadership panel at the end of July with the aim at discussing diversity, especially when it comes to attracting more women to a predominantly male industry, and what a younger person looks for in an employer.

Although Rick was much our senior, he listened to everything we had to say on the topic because, and he stated, that he is a 60 something African American man who grew up and started working in a world completely different from today and needed to hear perspectives from people who are the future if he was attending a conference shaping it. I brought up the fact that only females receive maternity leave and for a short time and recommended that it be available to all genders for longer. Rick responded, “why would men need maternity leave” – not being intensive, clearly wanting to know my thinking, and when I responded that there may be a same sex couple having a child, he realized he should have thought of that. Rick stated at the end of our meeting that we were able to point things out to him that he would have never thought of, as well as have him a clearer idea of what type of environment younger people are looking for when looking for work. I felt that seeing someone in Rick’s position be vulnerable about his weaknesses to interns, and gladly take all of our insight, was remarkable and really made me feel valued as an employee.