I have tried to start this particular blog about team work
at least twice and each time I have ended up with writers block so to speak.
Tonight however as we read the final draft of our report
over endless cups of tea and a few more emails. it made me realise what made our team work so
well. It was a little thing called
balance, communication and appreciation.
The report we had just written was truly a team effort,
where everyone contributed what they could, when they could. Yes, we had disagreements about how certain
sentences should look. Yes we got tired
and snappy with each other, but at the end of the day we had one common goal
which had drawn us together. Writing this report!
This is what had drawn us together, four people who didn’t
know each apart from what we had put as an intro on a university streaming
session. A brief description of what we
hoped was our strength and not our weakness.
And our main desire was that we
hoped to meet in person, to create a bond that would survive completing a group
assignment.
After the first round of emails confirming details, we arranged
to meet to break the ice and put faces to names, first snag only three of us
could actual meet up, so an endless chain of emails started to include all the team. Over coffee and
cakes we talk about our study plans, what we were looking for in team mates,
and what we thought would be a good arrangement to get the team working going
forward.
Communication was always the point, if one person couldn’t
make meeting we send out emails, minutes, reminders of things that need to be
done. We worked to our strengths, which
became apparently quite early on. One
was an organiser, who planned and brain stormed. A further member was a great researcher, who had
an eye for detail. Another motivator,
who talks and encouraged and kept us all to deadlines, yes even when I was
dragging my feet, and me. I was the
person with connections, the interview arranger.
What one may have lacked was balanced by someone else, and
we brought differing points of view.
Sometime complimentary to each and other times having to remind each
other that we were entitled to differences of opinion. We have also taught each other about
environmental issues, and raised awareness about recycling (something we actual
bonded over). We played to each other
strengths, and help were we thought there may be weakness.
So over many cups of tea our report was written and
reviewed, then reviewed some more with more tea and the occasional sweet
treat. In the end it was true team
effort, and one in which everyone (I hope) appreciated all the feedback, and
seemingly endless reviews, and cups of tea & emails . I know I certainly appreciated everyone’s
efforts.
This quote seems more than appropriate “No man is an island,
entire of itself” (John Donne) as there is no team, if one person considers
themselves an island, which none of us did.
From: A Selection
from the prose by John Donne
3 comments:
I thought the teamwork went surprisingly smoothly, mainly because of a fortunate team composition. We all turned out to be competent at certain tasks required to complete the work. I am grateful that despite the fact I never got to meet you all in person, you all undertook the extra effort to keep me up to date with team work proceedings with seemingly endless emails. Truth be told, our teamwork effort hasn't drawn to close- we still must persevere through the seminar. Although it's a theoretically less demanding assignment.
Well said Cherie. Yes endless cups of tea - and a slightly enlarging waist line from all the food sharing. Tea and food seem to lessen any brief arguments and add to the conversation. And I, for one, have a new appreciation of having others to lean on and discuss ideas with. Not having to "go it alone" was a refreshing change of pace!
That was an awful lot of tea! Good way of communicating that mood.
I think we could have communicated better but yes, we did get there in the end
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