I’m finishing up an internship at a huge international company, a fortune 500 company that manufactures luxury vehicles. I just got my end of internship review, I received extremely high marks on my handling of business, professionalism, and quality of work, but the place I lacked in was “leadership and role model” qualities.
I don’t understand why there is such a heavy emphasis on leadership and individuality. I personally never want to be in a managerial role, I am a software developer in training, and I want to spend my professional life doing that! My manager said my generation (Gen Z) lacks the drive to be leaders and role models, but the thing is, I don’t really care if another intern sees me as a leader, I do not want to be one. Why is it inherently bad in the USA to do your job extremely well and on time without doing overtime, shoving your ideas in your peers faces, and “leading” other people?