I worked as an intern for Pfizer Corporation right after my MS Degree. The role required me to analyze accessorial charges in procurement by working closely with all the procurement managers and therefore was a powerful position in terms of responsibility for someone right out of the school. Most importantly, this role required gathering the data from managers, analyzing their costs and identifying opportunities to save cost. I found it particularly hard to get relevant data from the respective managers for my analysis. I encountered resistance from 3 out of 5 managers during the data request process. Since the analysis would have involved uncovering inefficiencies with in each managers’ business practices, the managers resisted from opening up about their business practices and therefore found different ways in either avoiding me or delaying the process
Even though my responsibilities wielded power, the title of intern by itself did not invoke serious response from the managers. Also I strongly believed that amount of time spent within the firm played a role in how the recipients of my interactions viewed me in their minds. Had I spent even two years of tenure within the firm, I would have seen myself more welcoming from my managers since Pfizer had a culture of respecting tenure.. So my power and influence totaled to nothing in such a culture. I wasted precious time in waiting and persevering with the managers that had little respect for interns. My expectation at my joining the firm was that systems in place would respect new talent, find them welcoming and help them grow. However, the reality was contrary to my expectations.
In order to get my job done, I utilized my immediate supervisor’s influence and his authority to get over the resistance. As I gained confidence from my Managers influence over other managers, I began to wield similar influence by stating to the audience the clear purpose of my role and how the role will help the department to achieve bigger goals. This new framing of the purpose of the project as well as my immediate supervisor intervention had a strong influence on the other manager’s response over time. They were more