Cheers to London

The experience I have had spending my summer in London is one that I will never forget. It has literally been the time of my life and I can't believe it is already over. Reflecting on the past two months, there are so many memories I am taking home with me and memories that I honestly will cherish for the rest of my life. I have learned so much here and have really grown as a person. Through my internship and England's social scene I was really able to be immersed in a completely different culture and navigate my way through it on my own. It allowed me to exercise my independence and see how far I can go. I was able to travel to Dublin and Barcelona, which were absolutely amazing. It showed me what I can achieve on my own and how grown up I really am.

But more than anything, what I am going to take home with me are the friendships I have formed here. I am going to miss this city like none other, but my experience here wouldn't have been what it was without the people I shared it with. In such a short time, these girls have become my closest friends. We literally spent every single day together and through our travels and nights out together we have grown incredibly close. Whether it's the memory of our first and last dinner at The Crown, our trips to Dublin and Barcelona, a night out at Fabric, our night at Trafalgar Square- these are what I love and will miss most about this trip. It is crazy to me that London now feels like home, and I have to leave it behind. At this point in time, I honestly am so overwhelmed with how I feel, and it's hard to register that I am leaving. Saying goodbye to this city and my friends is so hard, and something I didn't expect. There is so much that can be said about this experience that I could literally go on for hours, but in the end all I can say is that this has been the time of my life and I wish it never had to come to a close.

Argonaut Assessment in the Workplace

Throughout the many dimensions of London, the cultural differences are evident. Especially when it comes to the workplace, the differences between an American business setting in comparison to that of a business setting in England are profound. While all 12 Argonaut Assessment qualities could be investigated, three prominent ones stand out in my mind. The first, and one that has been discussed multiple times, is that of communication. While in America communication tends to be very direct and to the point, at my internship in London it is quite the opposite. Many tasks are not assigned deadlines, and a lot of times it is not expressed in great detail exactly what they want or expect. Also, even if I am sitting next to a co-worker, e-mail is the main form of communication, which I found very odd initially but am now accustomed to it. Also, at my workplace it tends to be an individualistic environment. As opposed to working in a more collective atmosphere, everyone sits at their separate desks and does their individual tasks. In fact, talking is minimal. Although everyone is working collectively to achieve the same goal, they achieve it in an individualistic manner. The last characteristic that is exhibited at my internship is the company's use of time. Everyone is very motivated by time and getting tasks done sequentially. A new task is not started until the last one is completely finished. Even when I am assigned tasks, it is assigned in the order in which they should be done.

In the pub setting, the cultural aspects are shown in a social manner. Over the weekend, some of us went to a pub to watch the England v. Germany game. Although there weren't that many different cultures at this particular spot, it was interesting how everyone seemed to be individualistic and kept to their own groups. Yet once the game started and everyone had that common ground to relate on, everyone started talking and cheering on their team together. All in all, I think cultural distinctions in social settings are completely dependent upon the environment. In general though, I have noticed that it seems to be that people of different cultures and ethnicities are a lot more intermingled than back home in the States. In almost any setting I have seen interracial groups and I think it is a really refreshing and amazing aspect of London.

Leadership in London

In coming to London, my leadership capabilities have definitely been challenged. Although at times it has been difficult, it has allowed me to experience many learning opportunities. While at home I am surrounded by many different cultures, I have had a lot of time to get to know the people around me on a personal level. As a result, it's been easy for me to understand their backgrounds and how our perspectives differ because of this. In London, I have been immersed in a strange culture, one that I had assumed was not that different from my own. Because there was no language barrier to work through, I guess I just assumed that there would be minimal culture shock and not that many differences to adapt to. I was very wrong to say the least!

In the workplace, because of the cultural differences, I have struggled to regain my role as a leader. The workplace in Britain is a lot different than in America because employers don't seem to be as upfront and direct with what they want or need. Now that I've become more comfortable in the workplace, I've been able to regain my confidence and offer to do more things. This week, I created a list of exhibitions I could go to in order to write reviews for Culture Wars.

Throughout this journey, I have learned a lot about myself. Most importantly, I have learned that all of my leadership qualities are always there, I just need to give myself time to adapt. Once I have adjusted and feel comfortable in my environment, my confidence comes back and I am able to exhibit all of the leadership qualities I exhibit at home. However, the number one thing I need in order to be a leader is a feeling of comfortability in my environment and with the people around me.

Myers Briggs in the Workplace

In the workplace, there are many different types of leadership personalities that are exhibited. One of my supervisors seems to be more of a feeler and more sensitive to other's feelings and ensuring that all of the employees are happy and there is a harmonious environment. He also seems to be more of an extravert as he is more social than some of the other employees. Also, because he is extremely task-oriented he seems to have more of a judging character as opposed to having a tendency to perceive. This balances out nicely with the other supervisor as she seems to have the opposite qualities. She definitely tends to be more of an introvert and mostly keeps to herself unless she has meetings and such. However this could also be because she is extremely busy and has a lot of events in which only she is taking part in, such as speeches on current events. She also seems to be more of a thinker as she is able to objectively analyse situations and their causes and effects. However, like our other supervisor, she also seems to have more of a judging personality because she is very task-oriented and has to be organised in order to be successful in her career.

Because of my Myers Briggs personality, I work really well in this environment. Its nice that the two supervisors have different leadership qualities because they tend to balance each other out. This way, all employees will be able to relate to at least one of them in their leadership style. The supervisor that I work more closely with I tend to be able to relate to more because I think our leadership styles are so similar. However, everyone in the office is so friendly and welcoming, I feel like it would be easy to take direction from anyone in the office.

Blog Post 1

Question One:

At my internship, the employees uphold many values. First off, they are very dedicated and committed to their work. Most of the employees even work during their lunch break in order to get all of their tasks finished. They are also extremely generous- whenever one person gets up to get coffee or tea, they offer to get some for everyone in the office. They have also made an effort to make me feel comfortable and welcome in the work space and make sure that we understand how to do our assigned tasks. Everyone is very nice to us and very friendly, which makes it feel like a family. It is a small office, so everyone knows one another. Most of the employees go for drinks together after hours, so it is very easy to get to know one another and develop friendships. Because the institution upholds these values, it has been able to create a great work environment in which its employees can not only be productive, but can also enjoy their jobs.

Question Two:

As the my internship takes place at a political think tank, it works to foster public debate in all areas of society- arts, culture, politics, etc. Therefore, the employees are very opinionated and are able to articulate these opinions. They are able to do so in a respectful manner, but also stand by their beliefs and are able to develop their arguments in a constructive manner. Despite the fact that they have other groups in opposition to what they stand for, they exude confidence in the fact that they do not let others persuade them. They are also confident in the way they approach others on a daily basis. They come off as very friendly, and their body language also conveys this message. This shows confidence because they are not intimidated by approaching new people and getting to know them. As a result, their confidence allows them to create easy conversation, which creates a positive work environment.