Summer Interns: Our Responsibility

Internships give students a chance to gain work experience, determine whether their interests fit a given area or organization, and create networks of contacts in the field. A senior manager's job involves succession planning, and where better to start than with summer interns? Consider what you want them to know and achieve to be successful in your office and perhaps even take over some day. It's up to the senior manager to teach them office etiquette, manners, and behavior during their internships. It's a boss's job with all employees, including interns, to empower them to succeed. As senior leaders, we must remember that part of leadership is doing just that, leading people, including new interns.