Post 4: Leadership: What type of leader is your supervisor? Has your supervisor has been effective in guiding you and assisting you in your internship so far? Does this style of leadership motivate and resonate with you?

My supervisor is the second-in-command at Seattle CityClub. She is comfortable in her leadership role, and leads in a way that is not imposing, but still commands respect. She has been effective in guiding and assisting me throughout my internship thus far. She is always able and willing to explain to me how my work links to the larger picture, she works hard to create a well-rounded experience for me, and she does not monopolize my time.

Some of the tasks that I have done for CityClub have been very mundane and tedious. If you look back to my previous blog post, you can read about how I actually do not mind the fact that I am doing some low-power tasks for CityClub. However, on the occasions that I have asked my supervisor why what I am doing is necessary, she has always been willing to take me through her thought process and explain to me how the spreadsheet I am making or the list that I am compiling will be crucial in the long run. This kind of patient, articulate, and empathetic leadership does a good job of reminding me that although sometimes it may not seem like it, I am contributing meaningfully to what goes on at Seattle CityClub.

My supervisor has made the effort to make sure that this internship is not one-dimensional for me. In addition to assigning me my own work, she has given me an open invitation to all of CityClub's board meetings and made me welcome at all of CityClub's events. She recognizes that I will have a better experience at CityClub if I am not sitting at my desk the entire time.

My supervisor's to-do list never gets short; she could easily occupy all of my time by delegating tasks from that list to me. But, she ensures that I have the freedom to help out the other people in the office. I have really appreciated this liberty, and made good use of it. I have had the autonomy to decide to help the web design/marketing manager at CityClub. I wrote a blog post for CityClub's blog, I have learned how to navigate through the website, and I have written some social media content for CityClub. My supervisor made it possible for me to have such a varied work experience.

My supervisor is a good leader, but I don't think that her style of leadership (in response to the question in the title) "motivates and resonates" with me. I think that the really great leaders have something extra that enables them to really capture the motivation of their followers, and galvanize them to operate on an unprecedented level. I think that this something extra is a combination of ingenuity, intense empathy, and a heck of a lot of charisma. My supervisor is great at what she does, and she is an awesome leader, but I do not think that she has this extra special spark.