Undergraduate Blog / Defining Your Babson

Communication is Key

One key lesson I have learned during my internship this summer is that dealing with different bosses requires different communication tactics. Before this internship I was used to very straightforward communication, whether it was an email or in person, I was told exactly what my bosses wanted and when they wanted it. At this internship though, it became clear very quickly that was not going to be the case. Being the CEO of the start up, my boss is always doing multiple things at one time and has to deal with a range of issues everyday. That being said, she would often tell me little things she wanted done or was thinking about at random times, whenever anything came to her mind. At first I was confused and thought these may be things she wanted done in the future. However, I learned that this was her way of communicating to me the things she wanted me to be working on right away. I do not receive emails or detailed instructions, I only got her thoughts when they come to her, even if they are tasks that have nothing to do with the current projects I am working on. I had to immediately adjust to this and learn to take notes on everything she says, even if it feels irrelevant at the time. This helped me forge a better understanding with my boss and now I am much more efficient. I am glad I had this experience so I have a better sense of how different bosses communicate with their employees and how I should react.