Week 6 was a great one! I hobbled back to work after my crazy and fun backpacking trip last weekend. The fun didn’t stop there because I had a trip to Belfast with my roommate Lovemary planned for this week! I’m happy I made it up to Northern Ireland because it is a reminder of the still recent and persistent political state of the island. I was fascinated with how the city felt so much like it was a part of Ireland while also being a distinguishably different country. The city had a similar post-industrial feeling to Dublin, while the infrastructure of the city was totally different. If you have your ears perked, you can see the scars and continued tensions between the British and Irish throughout the city.

We went to a rave, flea markets, and city hall and checked out some awesome foodie spots and so much more. Belfast is a city with so much cool stuff going on, and I was quite charmed by all the Belfast-ians we met. It’s admirable that a city that has had such serious conflict so recently is filled with so much economic and cultural spunk. One moment I particularly enjoyed from our trip was taking a quick rest on the city hall’s lawn. I’ve been learning that “slowing down” is one of the best ways to observe and feel immersed in any place. It was cool to see many other people of all types lying on the lawn and enjoying the sunny weather.

Before this internship experience I was definitely a leader and mediator. I am a vocal person and usually enjoy organizing and presenting ideas. I also usually excel at hearing multiple ideas, simplifying these, and guiding conversation to compromise. During this internship I have taken a step away from leading. Usually my boss, a senior coworker, or a project leader will delegate tasks to me at work. This internship has taught me how to better be a learner instead of a leader. I have learned so much from my senior coworkers from watching them lead a project or delegate tasks to me. While leadership is important, learning to let others lead means prioritizing listening before speaking, deeper analysis, and resting your ego.

When I watch the leaders in my workplace, I’ve picked up on a few of their strategies. One of these is open communication. I’ve noticed that many of the leaders who sit near me are very honest with each other. Sometimes this even feels like brutal honesty. However, being honest with coworkers can establish more trust and improve project efficiency. When working on large, multi-faceted architecture projects, staying on the same page is crucial for success. It’s important to note that this total honesty only works well when in good faith and mostly within the organization (not too much brutal honesty with clients!). I think I’ll have to test if being more honest, even when it can be harsh, is something that works in America culturally. Though, I have a feeling that this might be a leadership style that works better in Ireland.

This internship has also taught me about personal leadership. Once I’ve been delegated a task, it’s my job to complete it even if I don’t fully understand or have all the skills to complete a task. In this way I feel like I stepped up in personal leadership, often pushing myself to grow my skills and problem solve in order to best complete tasks. For example, I recently was asked to print out some papers. Turns out my workplace has a somewhat complicated printing system where you save to PDF, print to a program, assign to a job, then enter a code on the printer to get your papers. At every step of the process I ran into a problem. Each time I would spend at least an hour problem solving on my own through the internet and trying out any solution I could think of on my own. In previous workplaces I would have spent way less time trying to figure out the solution on my own. I feel that I’ve become better at pushing myself to problem solve and innovate. I’ve learned how to lead myself in situations that rely more on the help of a leader.

Altogether I’ve learned how to step back and be a better learner in interpersonal relationships while becoming a better leader of myself in the workplace. In the future I plan on being a better listener and learner when working in groups. I also plan to continue to push myself to be an innovator and problem solver when working on problems by myself.