Ever considered an Internship?
Can you believe that Michael Lake was my first intern decades ago? Maybe we both made our own luck, but Michael genuinely transformed our business within a couple of months, coming in with zero domain knowledge. This was before he got his triple degree and was asked by Chelsea Clinton if my kids in the photo on his White House desk were his.
That experience set my reference point for what an internship can be. So much so that I share with new Interns the concept of Imposter Syndrome very early. My experience is that when given the right environment interns consistently exceed everyone’s expectations, especially their own. It helps that we are never afraid of the brightest person in the room.
Thanks to Rob Metcalfe, we use this simple BECKS model – Behaviour, Environment, Clarity, Knowledge & Skills.
We interview for specific behaviours and all we ask is that each individual brings their authentic self to work (the behaviours are already baked in).
It is our job as a business to deliver the E, C, K&S:
- create the environment for success through people, processes and technology
- be clear in our expectations, objectives, norms of behaviour etc
- create a learning environment that delivers, at a minimum, the requisite knowledge and skills.
When the internship is over, these highly capable interns have their journeys to traverse and like any parent encouraging their children to travel it is with mixed emotions when they inevitably leave (sometimes years later).
In start-ups compounding is key. By living vicariously through the lives of our interns, I feel luckier every day. I’ve got to watch Michael create LeadingCities from a concept to a network of cities focused on collaborative urban research. The direction, vision, tools and opportunities are then accessible to any municipal government in the world.
Keep smiling and making the world a better place every day, Michael.
President Clinton's passion for public service never ceases to inspire me. Attending this year's Clinton Global Initiative was a great opportunity to take action, connect with like-minded individuals, and make commitments for change. It was also wonderful to reconnect with old White House friends at the reunion. As President Clinton reminded us, this week marks the 30th anniversary of his creation of AmeriCorps, just one of the many incredible impacts of the Clinton Administration. #ClintonGlobalInitiative #PublicService #AmeriCorps
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