Working Your Way Up: Work with Colleagues, Not Underlings

Work with colleagues, not underlings. I learned a long time ago that it’s a lot better to introduce the people whose work you supervise as colleagues, not as “assistants” or “interns” or “helpers.” It’s OK to say that so-and-so “is my colleague here, working as an intern on…” but it’s bad form to introduce a person as an underling. If you respect your younger or “more junior” colleagues and treat them with respect, you will help to create a better working relationship.

Tom Palmer is vice president for international programs at the Atlas Network and senior fellow at the Cato Institute. This advice is an excerpt of the IHS “Creating Your Path to a Public Policy Career” guide, which you can read here.