Nathan Wright

Volunteering both inside and outside of an organization can be immensely valuable for individuals, solely from a learning perspective. An added benefit of stepping up and out to complete projects outside of your scope of work is a great way of showing initiative and a hunger for more. Every event or project that is volunteered for, is another reason to change that temporary or contract work into a permanent position to keep you in the organization as a valuable partner.

In my experience, I have found it immensely helpful to frame a conversation when discussing work. In framing a conversation and being intentional about your interactions, one can discover new things and new connections with people that previously were unknown if all conversations were solely discussing work projects. In order to get information and these building blocks of relationships, one must be open to sharing themselves with the world too, to that end, share what is comfortable and work appropriate. Relationships are very much a "give" and "get" scenario, if nothing is provided, then nothing will be given up.

In my experience, for any role, permanent or temporary, one should always find creative ways to tackle an issue. Individuals may do this by taking inventory of a situation, seeing what tools are available at the organization, assess what has been done to tackle the problem thus far or in the past, and finally bring all these pieces together to present a cohesive solution that is effective and efficient for the organization. Through this work, an individual's thoughtfulness, thoroughness, and passion should shine through. During this process, individuals should take the opportunity to make connections at the organization to try and find the information above, but create that working relationship by using the work as an icebreaker!

As one is adapting their leadership style, one must keep in mind that not everyone is the same, so the one-size fits all mentality didn't work before adapting and it won't work now. Acknowledging that everyone has different experiences and backgrounds that are now intersecting on the team is a crucial part of the adapting step. Teams that are led well and heard are more effective.

In my experience, I have found it helpful to be honest and upfront in a leadership role. Having a candid conversation, albeit tough to do sometimes, is the best way to get to the root of an issue if your leadership style is not meshing with a team or specific team member. Organizing a meeting and calling out what everyone sees is happening and get direct feedback about how to make things better for the team. Many times being a leader is to know your limits and know when to adapt to a changing environment. Leaders may have to continuously pivot to help best support their team and power through to the next project or initiative!