3-minute read, plus an assessment
Thursday, July 30th, was National Intern Day, a day of recognition for the interns who contribute their voice and experience to business and the mentors who guide them.
As summer interns depart, they leave behind valuable lessons for us to carry forward.
Interns brought energy, fresh perspective, curiosity, and a beginner’s mind, infusing summer work with energy.
For many full-time staff, having interns around was fun and a breath of fresh air, partly because there were new people in the office and partly because successful interns bring an open mind and embody six characteristics that attract others to them:
Teachability
Adaptability
Collaboration/Communication
Problem-Solving
Humility
Leadership
The behaviors that define a successful intern are the same characteristics that define a beginner’s mind. They are the qualities organizations look for when assessing ‘fit’, and, together with skill mastery, lead to promotion.
Here’s the rub.
As managers, we rely heavily on routines and predictable behaviors to get work done, and we should. Predictability and routine are important for setting expectations and creating certainty among team members. But those structures can also undermine our curiosity and beginner’s mind.
If you’ve ever heard, ‘Let’s just do it the same way,’ you’ve seen the triumph of routine over curiosity in real time.
Because work runs on process and routine, it’s a good idea to take a periodic pause to reacquaint ourselves with the curiosity that drew us to the work in the first place.
A pause allows us to assess how we’re showing up, how our actions shape others’ perceptions of us, and how our teams respond to our leadership style. If your management routines feel a little stale, now is a good time to assess your leadership characteristics, correct what’s lacking, and tap into your inner intern to finish the year strong.
This month, the article is brief, but the assessment warrants time and reflection. Your responses will help you understand which of your current behaviors are dampening your intern’s mindset and where you can refresh your habits.
There is space on the assessment to write out self-generated (or AI-nudged) ideas for improvement, helping you identify the small behavioral shifts that will positively impact your leadership style.
Focus on one improvement at a time. When you have successfully integrated the first change and received feedback on how it’s landing with your team and supervisors, move on to the next.
A note about behavioral shifts: targeted tweaks to existing behaviors are easier to integrate than large, wholesale changes.
You’ve got enough to do, so for best results. focus on one behavior, preferably one you have already received feedback on in a performance review or in one-on-one conversations.
Improving on what is already visible will be appreciated by your team and supervisors. Practice until the new behavior is second nature before moving on. It will take time, but the effort toward improvement will be noticed and appreciated.
Tweaking stale routines and reengaging your intern mindset will set you up for an energetic fall, full of possibility and collaboration.
Thank you for reading.
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