Field Manager Interview

Entry #5: Currently my organization does not have an executive director, so the role has been split between the three staff members we have. For this entry's purpose, though, I am going to focus on my field instructor, Kristin. My field instructor is a formal leader in the organization, and I would argue that she is the most influential person within the organization as well. Her official title is Director of Counseling Services, but she also manages all the volunteers, clients, trainings, and so on. Even though her title might not sound like a management position, the work she does says otherwise. Several leadership traits can account for Kristin's success as a leader. Passion is the first trait that comes to mind. She is very passionate

Kristin shows confidence is almost everything she does at Headquarters. If she believes something would benefit the organization and the people it serves, she displays confidence in her decision why it would be a good reason to spend money/time/etc. on that thing. Another trait that may be overlooked by some, but I think is important when you are in a leadership position, is persuasion. I am by no means saying Kristin is manipulative, or evil, or any other negative word that might come to mind when you see the word persuasion. Instead, I am meaning that she is very good at communicating what needs to be done in a way that makes you want to do it. She does not bribe, or beg, but instead chooses her words and the emotions in her voice (and even in her emails) that sparks a desire to do what she tells you to (most often in the context of covering shifts or, for interns, attending events). Without this trait, a lot of the necessary work of Headquarters performed by volunteers would be left undone. A final trait I identified in Kristin is honesty. She will tell you exactly what she thinks without beating around the bush, and a rationale for her thinking is always readily available. I have never been around her when she has lied, or even considered telling a lie. She is open to all of us interns about the good and the bad things going on at the organization and her feelings on

Kristin's ability to see the big picture and not focus on the details at the beginning gives the organization a ground to start from and a goal to strive for. She tends to add details as she goes, and in the end will come up with something that can be a huge benefit to Headquarters (or the public) and that is often a fully-attainable goal. A good example of this is having interns lead a 6 week suicide prevention group at Lawrence schools. What started as a big idea that came about a year ago, turned into a plan she worked out alone as well as with the interns, and we are now on track to start extremely soon. Identifying priorities fits well with the ability of strategic thinking my field instructor has. As with the prior example, she has been able to identify the need for suicide prevention and education in the local high schools and middle schools. By working with that population, the work we do can hopefully prevent more suicides in the present as well as in the future. She is also able to identify priorities more specifically to the organization, such as where finances are lacking, where outreach needs to be done, and where the focus of staff and volunteers should be at any given time. Lastly, Kristin has the ability of communication, primarily with the volunteers she manages. She is