Week 3 at Cvent- leader/follower relationships

Here at Cvent the leader-follower dynamics are more relaxed. There is definitly a hierarchy, especially as an intern, but everyone is willing to listen to ideas despite level. This idea of collaboration despite level is something that was really pressed on us during orientation. I believe that it has been an important aspect of the cvent ethos since before Covid. Though I’m sure the specifics are different given the remote nature of this internship, it seems like the overall idea of group work was an important aspect of the compant.

At Cvent, at least in my team, we work in teams. I am working in the IT department as part of the financial systems team. Since some members of this team have been remote since before the pandemic, I think that most of the team wide meetings have been conducted via Zoom for a while. In my team there are a couple different roles. There is a software architect and engineer, a director, and a manager of financial systems. It seems to be a mix of the team work independentally and working together. We work independently then come together for collaborations when necessary, which is often. Every morning we have a team meeting where we collaborate, catch up on our plans for the day, and ask questions.

Within my team there is a hierarchy, the director has a very collaborative leadership style. During our morning meetings he asks the team what their plans are and lets everyone talk through what they need to. Though I dont have a lot of interaction with him outside of these meetings, I think his style of managing is effective for the team. My manager, so far, has been less collaborative but that is because I need it. Most of our meetings are my manager showing me how to do things in the systems so there is less room for discussion. I have not had meetings with anyone else to really understand their leadership style so it is hard for me to know.

There are lots of strenghts to different leadership styles. In the case of my manager, the more direct approach is necessary and much more efficient. For team wide meetings my directors style of leadership is most effective. It allows eveyrone to discuss what needs to be talked about. The only downside is that sometimes people go off on tangents with eachother. We sometimes spend 10 minutes where only 2 people will talk. It seems like in that situation it would be nice for the director to steer the conversation back to team wide issues.