Over the years there has been many different times and opportunities I have been on a team. Although it means something to be on a team, but what really matters is being a part of an effective and high performance team. Just as the old saying there is no “I” in team. Now that I am close to entering the professional world, and my courses are becoming narrowed toward my major in marketing, there is a higher demand for group projects and presentations that are expected from professors. Like I mentioned before, I have been on many different teams throughout my life such as sports teams, dance teams, professional teams, educational teams, and volunteer teams. With all of my past experience on working on teams it came very natural and easy to me when ask to come up with a theoretical model on how to build an effective team. I have encountered teams that worked very effectively together and ones that did not collaborate well as a team.
Recently in one of my courses I am currently enrolled in, each classmate was chosen to by the professor to be put on a team of six members. We were all formed into project teams to produce a “one-time” task of presenting a top Fortune 500 company of our choice to the class as to why this company is a great to work for and why it is so successful. The company we all agreed upon was Google. This project was designed to be worked on throughout the semester and to be presented before Thanksgiving break. Goal interdependence, the shared vision by all group members for an end goal was our main task. We knew we had to complete this project effectively to reach our goal of presenting our company Google on time, and in the most professional and successful way. Along with reaching a goal comes risks and obstacles. With taking risks you have to be confident in what you do so that you can accomplish your goal. The level of confidence you have in the risks you take is known as potency. Right from the start we knew we had to get together to start brainstorming ideas, and express our creativity. The only problem we ran into was trying to find time that we were all able to meet during our busy schedules. We are all in school and have jobs outside class so coordinating a time to meet within our hectic lives was a true challenge. The next task we had to accomplish was to establish team roles and member abilities. Trying to coordinate meeting times and the activities among the team members was one of my roles as coordinator. When we met as a team I was also the orienter who determined the direction in which our meeting went to make sure we stayed on task and were building an effective team. During our meetings over the semester communication was key. Without effective communication within a team there would be no collaboration or end goal reached. Each member was assigned a task role which highlighted their core abilities and strengths. In order to complete our project throughout the semester we had to rely on technology to keep us on track and committed to completing our presentation. We used email as well as Google Documents to communicate and share ideas when we unable to meet in person.
One benefit of our team, which our professor did a great job executing was creating our team full of many diverse backgrounds. Our team consisted of both males, females, people of different races, and ethnicities. Having diversity within a team has many benefits and helps to add value to the team. In my past experiences if people are given the chance to choose who is on their team they usually choose people who are close to them such as friends or people similar to them with the same backgrounds and race. It was nice to have the teams chosen for us already creating many variations of member personalities within my team. Combining all of our different personalities and backgrounds really added a diverse outlook to our presentation.
Having the experience to work on this team to achieve a common goal was a really rewarding experience for me. I feel I learned a lot about myself and how to effectively work with other team members. It taught me skills and expectations that I will later need in my future career. Working with my team was a true success and presented us all with a great grade on our presentation. Without team work, dedication, motivation, and communication no team would be successful and effective in reaching their ultimate goals.
Recently in one of my courses I am currently enrolled in, each classmate was chosen to by the professor to be put on a team of six members. We were all formed into project teams to produce a “one-time” task of presenting a top Fortune 500 company of our choice to the class as to why this company is a great to work for and why it is so successful. The company we all agreed upon was Google. This project was designed to be worked on throughout the semester and to be presented before Thanksgiving break. Goal interdependence, the shared vision by all group members for an end goal was our main task. We knew we had to complete this project effectively to reach our goal of presenting our company Google on time, and in the most professional and successful way. Along with reaching a goal comes risks and obstacles. With taking risks you have to be confident in what you do so that you can accomplish your goal. The level of confidence you have in the risks you take is known as potency. Right from the start we knew we had to get together to start brainstorming ideas, and express our creativity. The only problem we ran into was trying to find time that we were all able to meet during our busy schedules. We are all in school and have jobs outside class so coordinating a time to meet within our hectic lives was a true challenge. The next task we had to accomplish was to establish team roles and member abilities. Trying to coordinate meeting times and the activities among the team members was one of my roles as coordinator. When we met as a team I was also the orienter who determined the direction in which our meeting went to make sure we stayed on task and were building an effective team. During our meetings over the semester communication was key. Without effective communication within a team there would be no collaboration or end goal reached. Each member was assigned a task role which highlighted their core abilities and strengths. In order to complete our project throughout the semester we had to rely on technology to keep us on track and committed to completing our presentation. We used email as well as Google Documents to communicate and share ideas when we unable to meet in person.
One benefit of our team, which our professor did a great job executing was creating our team full of many diverse backgrounds. Our team consisted of both males, females, people of different races, and ethnicities. Having diversity within a team has many benefits and helps to add value to the team. In my past experiences if people are given the chance to choose who is on their team they usually choose people who are close to them such as friends or people similar to them with the same backgrounds and race. It was nice to have the teams chosen for us already creating many variations of member personalities within my team. Combining all of our different personalities and backgrounds really added a diverse outlook to our presentation.
Having the experience to work on this team to achieve a common goal was a really rewarding experience for me. I feel I learned a lot about myself and how to effectively work with other team members. It taught me skills and expectations that I will later need in my future career. Working with my team was a true success and presented us all with a great grade on our presentation. Without team work, dedication, motivation, and communication no team would be successful and effective in reaching their ultimate goals.