Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and had a great start to July. Today I woke up and had two realizations: I will go home in less than three weeks and I will be back in Pittsburgh next month! This summer has had three phases for me. The first was the period between the end of the semester and before I went abroad, second is my IIP, and third will be the period when I return home from Spain and before I go back to school. I know I have mentioned this previously, but it is surprising how fast time has gone not only for this program, but also for the summer. With that said however, I miss Pittsburgh and cannot wait to get back to school for my junior year at Pitt.
This weekend I had the privilege of traveling to Barcelona for three days. Barcelona is a beautiful city that is similar and different from Madrid. Like Madrid is a capital city, Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, one of the autonomous regions in Spain and has wonderful architecture too. Unlike Madrid, however, Barcelona is more colorful and creative than Madrid. The reason I say this is because of the amazing sights I got to see this weekend. The first location I got to see was Park Güell, designed by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí. This park offered the prettiest views I got to see all weekend and set the tone for what to expect. The next morning, I went to the world-renowned La Sagrada Familia. This is an amazing basilica that has been under construction since 1882 and should be finished by 2034. On Sunday mornings they offer free mass services to anyone interested, but there are only limited seats. I unfortunately did not arrive early enough to get a seat for the mass, but seeing the basilica and examining its amazing detail and design was better than not seeing it at all. Later that day, I then went to La Pedrera, another design by Gaudí. La Pedrera was an apartment building with one of the most unique designs I have ever seen. Instead of a traditional-looking building, it contains curvy lines, many colors, and a rooftop with some of the best views of all of Barcelona (I realize my description of La Pedrera is terrible and I apologize for that; I am not an architecture major). I must admit though that I prefer Madrid over Barcelona.
After working in Madrid for five weeks, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my leadership style. Before this experience, I would say I had a laid-back leadership style. I always tried to be a good listener in my small group and in my sectionals with the Pitt Men’s Glee Club and never wanted to step on people’s shoes or be a stickler about things. The reason I did this was because I wanted people to like me and to develop relationships with them, as I thought it was the best way to get the most out of people. As I have interned abroad, however, my view and approach to leadership have changed. Both of my bosses are Americans that work abroad, either in Buenos Aires or Madrid. Because of that, they have not had issues communicating what they expect from me and what they wanted to do. One thing my bosses have done well is give me clear expectations about my KPIs for each week and due dates for when to complete my projects. In my organizational behavior class last semester, I learned that clear expectations are one factor for increasing motivation in workers and I have noticed myself more motivated to do my tasks because I had that clarity.
As a result of my experience, there are ways I can become a better leader. One way is by setting those clear expectations with the people in my organizations so that they feel more motivated to do certain tasks, just like I was during my internship. Another way I can be a better leader is to make sure I see other people’s perspectives in situations. This entire IIP has taught me so much about how important it is to understand perspectives different from your own so that you get a better picture of the world around us. One way I can do this is by not becoming frustrated because something did not go as I expected. A couple of weeks ago, I got sick and had to miss time from my internship to go to doctor appointments and work from home. Instead of my bosses being frustrated, they showed me compassion and understanding. They asked about how I was feeling and I could tell that they seemed to care about my wellbeing during that time. This experience taught me the most important thing about leading. You lead people, not robots.
