Reflection 2
When I think of my role as a leader and teammate, one very specific moment from last summer comes to mind: I had just drafted an email that I was sending out to the Board of Directors and Advisory Board Members, introducing myself and asking for their biographies and headshots. I had clearly stated in the email that I was “working under Charla and Janet this summer.” This is something I wrote very nonchalantly and thought of as true. When I sent the drafted email to Janet, one of my mentors at TCF, she sent me some amazing corrections and feedback. But one small change resonated greatly with me. She changed “under” to “with” and said “Never say that you are working under us! You’re working with us.” This small comment made me feel incredibly part of the TCF team. It’s one of the reasons I was so excited to come back for a second summer and resonated with me throughout my fellowship this summer as well.
The staff structure at TCF is made up of very distinct roles, yet all of them overlap and collaborate. I came in as a general intern working on one of our Advancement projects, the Volunteer Hub, so I reported primarily to Janet, the Executive Director, and Charla, the Advancement Director. I made an effort to make myself available to all of the staff members, however, which gave me the opportunity to work on other projects. For example, I was able to help out Emily Larkin, the Thriving Youth Program Director, with seeking official support for the Darien Drug Free Communities Grant. I also had the chance to sit in on a few panel meetings and the final meeting for grant allocations with Lisa Haas, the Community Investments Director. These are just the few ways I was able to get involved by making myself available as a team player. I felt most like a part of the team at our weekly Tuesday staff meetings where I had the chance to hear about everyone else’s work and also present my own.
As someone who has been helping with the Volunteer Hub since its fruition, I almost always had an opinion which I articulated and I think my input was appreciated. In the smaller meetings we had, I was able to present our progress to our new volunteers. In some ways, this open-minded and comfortable environment of TCF gave me the chance to feel like a leader in these moments.
I have discovered what it truly means to work in a “collaborative” environment. This word gets tossed around so often and it’s hard to be sure of whether a working environment is actually collaborative or not, especially this early in my career. But TCF has made me feel nothing less than part of the team and I now know how important this kind of environment is to me. I thrive in a social, collaborative setting, where people work with each other and not for each other. Though structure is obviously necessary, it’s most important for me as a team player and a leader to work somewhere with a certain level of approachability and sociability.
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