One of the skills I gained this summer is how to create structures around myself where there are very few. Before starting my internship, I had always heard that nonprofits could be severely underfunded, leaving everyone to do a little bit of everything. Now I know how accurate that is. At first, I was surprised by how much independence I had over my own schedule, since the rest of my team at YLC hold other full-time jobs. They work irregular hours and are usually in the office only twice a week or when there are events. Although this has been a challenge since I haven't been able to build the connections I'd envisioned, I have learned to create the structures I need to succeed.
It is not easy to find the best way to contribute when you are neither asked to nor given directions on how. This is not about lacking initiative but about lacking the landpost to know where you are headed. It is one thing to know a project's goals but not the specific path to achieve them; it is another to not understand the project at all. This is what I've struggled with most, since many projects are underway but their timelines extend beyond my internship, and I simply haven't had time to fully integrate into one. This flexibility has given me a wide range of experiences, but it has also left me with a sense of uncertainty about my work.
Even so, my supervisor has been instrumental. One thing she did that I hope to emulate is take the time to understand a person's strengths and weaknesses and tailor their tasks accordingly. Early on, I told her I was comfortable creating detailed lesson plans and building out a curriculum, but that I was not as strong at visualizing a lesson through a deck. She first had me develop one of the lessons for an upcoming summer program she is facilitating, and when I finished, she appreciated how detailed it was. Then she asked me to build the slide deck—knowing it wasn't my strength—and when I finished, she sat down with me, edited it together with me, and talked through her feedback. I valued that moment because she showed she cared about my growth: she let me try before stepping in. That is the kind of leader I want to be—one who draws on people's strengths but also builds up their weaknesses, not by taking the task off their plate, but by letting them work that muscle before it atrophies.