Working with people to accomplish a project is a vital skill. I recently worked in a group in which the purpose was to research and present a report about LED lights installation at the University as one of the ways to ensure the University supports the need to be carbon-neutral by going green.
During my time working in the group, I learned that communication between all members is vital, in spite of the role of each member in the group. Communication ensures success. Research also shows that effective communication between team members involves regular open and honest communication to maintain the integrity of the team (Parris, Dapko, Arnold and Arnold 2016). Based on my experience working in the group, withholding information or the truth damages the integrity of the team. For instance, our group comprised of four members. I was initially assigned to a group in which I contacted other members to inform them that I was one of the members. Unfortunately, I did not receive any feedback except from one member. The same person, however, had been placed in two different groups by mistake, and after one week he was placed in another group. I searched for the two remaining members but received feedback from only one of them through Facebook.
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A friend from the same course experienced the same issue in which she received feedback from only one member of her group. We decided to request the lecturer to merge the two teams, which was just 12 days before the deadline. The example demonstrates that without communication, the group becomes useless as members do not accomplish anything (Galegher, Kraut and Egido 2014, p.xiii). The deadline was approaching but my group had not met and members were not replying to my messages, which meant that we could not do anything.
As a team member, I initiated group meeting where I led the group in deciding the project topic, creating Google doc account for the group in which all members could access simultaneously, deciding the content of the project, proofreading the final project, and uploading it. Our task was to develop a 2500 word report in which each member completed specific parts of the presentation. My part was about the communicational strategy, and I finished it earlier than other members by writing 490 words even though all members completed their parts on time. All team members worked together by contributing to the discussions about the choice of the topic and the choice of the content to be included. Each member also chose the part that they were most qualified to complete effectively. I can say that my group had positive group dynamics. We all had similar skills given that we were in the same course. All members were pleasant and considered themselves to be like me.
Group dynamics refers to the effects of the different roles and actions of group members on other members and the entire group (Forsyth 2018, p.28). The main features of a group with a positive dynamic includes trust between members, which allows members to work toward a common objective or decision while holding each other accountable for accomplishing their tasks (Forsyth 2018, p.133). A group with a poor dynamic does not make any decision or makes the wrong decisions due to disruptions by members’ actions that hinder the effective exploration of different options (Griffin, Larcker, Miles and Tayan 2017).
Leadership is another crucial part of a group because the leader contributes to the group dynamic by showing direction, preventing conflicts, and focusing the group on the correct priorities (Platow, Haslam, Reicher and Steffens 2015). While every member of my group completed their task on time without delays, several challenges emerged. For example, none of them could lead, which compelled me to be their leader. Being a leader meant that I had to contribute more by doing most of the work. During the final stages of the report compilation, for instance, I had to add an extra 200 word to the final report to meet the word count and proofread the entire report to correct any word before uploading it.
Besides, the night before the presentation date, one of the members said that she could not present the report because of being anxious before a large group of people, which compelled me to replace her. It is apparent from this experience that the development of the group depends on the leader. I could not, for instance, refuse to add words to the report to meet the word requirement of the project by returning it to other members. I could also not force a member to present the report when she could not due to her personal problems. A leader focuses on preventing problems that could emerge including problems with poor dynamics. Leadership entails tackling issues by acting quickly (Forsyth 2018). Clear communication between member also emerged in this experience in which a member communicated early about her inability to present, which allowed me to find a replacement to ensure the project continued without delays.
Participating in the group enabled me to learn a lot from the team members and about myself. For example, I learned that teams that regularly communicate take a shorter time in completing projects than those that do not communicate. I experienced numerous communication problems before being assigned to this group. In the first group, for example, other members except one could not communicate with me. We could not make any decision regarding where to meet and what topic to focus on for the project because we could not communicate with each other about when and where to meet. In the second group, however, I observed the significance of communication in ensuring the effectiveness of a group. I had to abandon the first group to seek another group where we could accomplish something. We met, decided on the topic, decided on the content to be included, compiled the report, and completed the project in the second group because we communicated regularly.
I also learned about my leadership abilities during my involvement in the group. I had to lead the group in which I initiated meetings where we made important decisions that helped us in completing the project successfully. I also took the initiative to correct any errors in the report and ensured the report met the required word count before I uploaded it to complete the project. I also led the group in presenting the report after one of the members could not present. My leadership ensured a positive group dynamic that led to successful project completion. In my future group participation, I would communicate more with team members early before starting a project. Next time I plan to improve on ensuring that group members clearly understand their objectives to hinder last-minute issues such those that occurred when one of my group members said she could not present.
References
Forsyth, D.R., 2018. Group dynamics . Cengage Learning.
Galegher, J., Kraut, R.E. and Egido, C. eds., 2014. Intellectual teamwork: Social and technological foundations of cooperative work . Psychology Press.
Griffin, T., Larcker, D.F., Miles, S. and Tayan, B., 2017. board evaluations and boardroom dynamics. Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University Closer Look Series: Topics, Issues and Controversies in Corporate Governance No. CGRP63 , pp.17- 22.
Parris, D.L., Dapko, J.L., Arnold, R.W. and Arnold, D., 2016. Exploring transparency: a new framework for responsible business management. Management Decision , 54 (1), pp.222- 247.
Platow, M.J., Haslam, S.A., Reicher, S.D. and Steffens, N.K., 2015. There is no leadership if no- one follows: Why leadership is necessarily a group process. International Coaching Psychology Review , 10 (1), pp.20-37.
