Leading Groups and Teams

1.4 Assignment: Teams That Fail

Getting Started

“The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to...failure.” - John Maxwell,  Failing Forward(new tab)

"Failure isn't fatal, but failure to change might be" - John Wooden,  Wooden on Leadership(new tab)

When we fail, it is important to reflect on why we failed. We can often learn more from failure than we can from success. So, in this assignment, we are going to reflect on a team that failed and why. 

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Identify a team that failed and analyze why.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade. 

2. Review Discovering Leadership (Middlebrooks et al., 2020) Chapter 12, specifically pages 317 and 318.

3. Think of a team you were on that failed. Write a 1 ½ to 2-page paper responding to these questions:

a.  In approximately half a page, describe the team as well as what the team’s purpose or goal was and how it failed (e.g., did not deliver the product, did not deliver on time, team imploded and disbanded, etc.)

b. In approximately a page, identify which of the 10 reasons listed on pages 317 and 318 contributed to the team failure – do not simply say “Lack of training” but rather what type of training was needed, why it would have helped, why it was not provided, how that impacted the team, etc.

c. For the final half-page, describe what could have been done to help the team succeed and why your suggestion would have had an impact.

4. All papers are to be written and formatted in accordance with APA Guidelines (7th ed.). Papers must be logical, well organized, grammatically correct, and have correct spelling and sentence structure. Write in complete paragraphs of at least three sentences in length.

5. Feel free to utilize Academic Writer (APA formatting resource) and Grammarly (grammar and plagiarism check) in the  IWU Resources(new tab)  page.

6. Proofread your papers prior to submitting them to ensure the highest quality of presentation.

7. The maximum number of pages is given to encourage you to be concise and use meaningful words.

8. Failure to meet these minimum writing and formatting requirements will result in a lowering of the overall grade. Use a #12 font in Times New Roman.