One common issue, when working in a team, is people having different opinions. This difficulty elevates a notch when people feel strongly about opposing ideas. Our group struggled to come to a consensus with issues, such as project topic, framework of proposal, and target audience. This was especially so, because all of us had a passion for helping the less-fortunate in society. Yet, conflicts did not arise within the group due to everyone’s willingness to compromise.
Personally, to compromise implies seeing the greater good of the team. Sometimes, situations do not allow a middle ground solution, forcing the team to make decisions that may not have everyone’s agreement. I believe that to compromise, is to support the team’s final decision, even when there may be a better solution. Of course, feedback and communication is important, but when decisions are made, it is essential that everyone supports it. The cost to compromise as such can be heavy, but that is when understanding each other's viewpoints comes in. That is where true team work shows.
An area of improvement, perhaps, would be on the leadership in the team. Everyone in the group had strong leadership backgrounds, thus we decided not to have a leader in order to prevent any hierarchy that would affect our peer relationship. This might have been the cause of some of our decision making struggles. Without a clear leader to make the final decision, many verdicts were based on the majority’s opinion, which required significant discussion time. On hindsight, a possible solution could be for each of us to have taken charge of different portions of the project.
Working with my team has been a pleasant journey, one that has provided me with a glimpse of work-life experience. Often, our team members cannot be chosen, but our team dynamics can.
*To Ankita and Shu Wen: It has been a great pleasure and privilege working with you all. Thank you!*
EXcellent post Samuel. I like the distinction you make between 'working in a team' & 'working as a team'- clearly what we would all like to strive for is the latter. On the point about leadership- you're right that every team effort must have a leader who basically pulls the ideas together and forces the team to make a decision. It has to be someone who also has the respect of team members even if they are all equals.
ReplyDeleteSamuel our team certainly faced the challenges you have described in your post. I am glad we were able to overcome them however, through cooperation as well as effective listening and communication on the part of all team members.
ReplyDeleteIt was really amazing to work with you and Shu Wen on this project:) I got the opportunity to learn a lot about working as a team from the both of you. Thanks for the memories and wish you all the best for the remainder of this semester and for all those to come!