Our Final Thoughts
The topics that we have learned over the past eight weeks will help us develop into the best employee and eventually (or hopefully) boss. However, as we are all about to have internships this summer, we decided that it would be beneficial to rate the topics by how applicable they will be to our intern experiences.
The topic that we found most applicable to our position as an intern was team building. Obviously, we will be at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of responsibility; however, working with the other interns and/or employees will be a huge part of our tasks. It is very important that we are able to be cohesive in order to be productive. Also, as we will be new to the group, it will be vital for us to inquire about the norms and goals of the group. Without knowing those, it would be difficult for us to work at our highest potential.
The next topic that was an important take away for us was personality. As an intern, it is necessary for us to quickly adapt to a new working environment and understand our coworkers, fellow interns, and supervisors. Being aware of the Myers-Briggs personality types will be extremely helpful in this situation. Although we know that these personality types cannot predict job performance, we do know that being aware of others’ personalities can help us interact effectively with those who are different than us, which is an organizational reality. Also, being aware of your own personality type can help in the workplace, and contributes to a higher Emotional Intelligence. Different personalities can add diversity and creativity to groups; however, if we are not aware of ourselves or of others, we will not be able to work effectively.
Another topic that is equally as important as personality is emotions and attitudes. Since we will be entering the work world shortly, it was very useful to see the profile of what a new hire should look like, such as displaying humility, readiness to learn, confidence, a positive attitude, respect, and an open mind. Knowing these desired attitudes will help us shape how we enter our respective organizations. Though we won’t be in a management position, where we have to decide how our employee’s attitudes can affect bottom line activities, we do have to be aware of our own attitudes. Knowing this will help us recognize whether the organization is a good person-job fit, and will also influence our professional success.
Decision making will as also be important to us as interns, even as the “newbies” in the organization. As interns, we may not be making big decisions; however, one of the greatest things we have to offer to the team is fresh eyes. We don’t really have as much experience under our belts, so we will be able to play a kind of devil advocates role. We can ask questions, intentional or not, that make the group explain their thought process in the decisions they made. While we may be making the tough decisions, we will definitely be able to help the team along in the process.
Leadership in an internship could be relevant depending on one’s position and requirements. Usually, interns engage in work that does not require one to assume the role of the leader. However, it is possible to find the need for leadership skills when heading a team of interns in larger companies. Even if you personally do not assume the role of the leader, understanding effective leadership techniques is significant to properly gauge success of any other leader. In this, intern-group leaders should delegate tasks throughout the team, assign roles (like the Gatekeeper and Summarizer), and/or represent one’s given group to higher management.
Even though ethics and integrity is towards the bottom of the pie chart measuring relevance in an internship-type setting, being ethical and practicing integrity should be done regardless of the setting. This is especially true if working with a team of interns where dependability and trust are key components for the success of any team. Team trust could dissolve when members are not ethical. For example, if a team of interns sees a member actively engage in social loafing, this member is not practicing integrity. In essence, success cannot be found without participating in ethical manners.
Managing diversity, while a very important topic does not have much relevance in an intern-type setting, because it is controlled by upper management. Managing Diversity is also something that is strategic, which means it should be long-term, well thought out, and take a long time to implement. Because we will only be interning for up to nine weeks, we feel as if we won’t be in a position long enough to see an organization change its culture. It is important, however, for us to watch for diversity issues, and think personally of how they can be solved.