Some of the challenges that might occur with is a team is the want of power,
issues with communication, control issues, laziness, and lack of motivation. When
I have worked in a team I have encountered all of the above issues. With
communication there have been times where no one wanted to listen to anyone.
They would ignore what others had to say and do what they wanted to do.
Control issues where the main issue that I encountered the most. Everyone
wanted to feel like they were in power and try to control everything that
everyone did. I reacted to this situations by ignoring them, I would not say
anything and just do my part to make sure we would succeed. Others on the
team would get in to arguments constantly. The team would argue about who
is the leader, who would do what and who was right. What I have learned is
that they were not the best choices for the team. They did not help the
situation, the issues made more of a delay in our goals. If a supervisor asked
me what it means to strengthen my team I would say it means cooperation.
Without cooperation you can not have a strong team. Some common challenges
that may arise as a team develops would be poor communication, lack of
accountability, and misunderstands. Misunderstands can arise from poor
communication or even the possibility of doubting the team or a team member.
Another common challenge can be clashing of different personalities or ideas.
I have encountered the challenge of having different personalities clashing within
a team. Whether it was on a sports team or even in the workplaces, this
seems to always be a problem when you have different individuals working
together. I recently had this problem with my coworkers. We are all apart of
management but we have different titles and different roles. Initially we did not
work as well together because we all had different personalities and different
management styles.
My team members and I reacted by initially being defensive about our different
management styles, then we came to understand one another and see that what
may work for one person, may not work for the other person. We all came
together and talked about it, and moving forward we have transparency with
each other and good communication.
When strengthen a team, I believe that means you need to have good
communication and understand your role and your teammates roles. I also think
it is important to get to know each other so you can better understand their
ideas and point of view.
When you work as an individual, you are used to making decisions and
complete tasks individually. But when you work with a team, you have to trust
your team mates and let them take a few decisions for the team.
Sometimes, team members make mistakes and it could be hard for you to trust
them with any other decision. But as a team it is important to trust your
teammates and function as a team. To have good communication skills and to
be work best as a team. The typical challenges that occur as a team develop
are many different personalities which can be difficultly especially when everyone
are stuck in their own ways. With my experience I was one of those people.
At first I never wanted to work with others or get to know my co-workers.
But when their were positions were open and I applied to them I got denied
because I didn't play well with others which means I would argue with my co-
workers who i felt was being rude with me or I looked at them funny. So I
decided it was time for a change if I wanted an higher position. So I put my
guard down and started to get to know my co-workers and apologize to them
about my behavior and actually got to know them and once that happen things
started to change a lot I actually got offered an manager position because I
already knew my job because I've been with the company for 4 years and this
was my last chance to prove to them that can handle the responsibility or I
was on to be replace. As I got to know my co-workers I learned many
different things from each one of them which shaped me to become the person
I am today. Some types of challenges that occur as a team develops is when
no one is communicating with the other, or not willing to work with
others.From my experience in working in a team, it started off ruff, not because
we didn't know the role of self, but not knowing each other or gave each
other a chance of knowing one another. Everyone had their own way of
working, some had attitudes, and their was one that just didn't even want to
work with the rest of the crew. As days turned into weeks, we were not
getting no where (what is the matter? What are we doing wrong? Who is the
blame?) We figured if we were going to work together and accomplish our
goal effectively, we had to have a meeting, meet and greet type. Soon after
that everyone was a little bit stronger and helped each other out, those that
needed, and didn't need it.If my supervisor asked what does strengthen a team
mean to me my response would be to always exercise good communicate skills,
because without that how would one know if your team member is struggling
or too afraid to ask for help due to the lack of understanding, or the turn
down. I think the biggest challenge of forming a new team is navigating the
transition period before everyone understands each other's communication styles
and preferences. It can be generalized as personality difference. But I think
specifically, because of the personality differences, you literally don't know how
to talk to one another. That makes working together and solving problems
difficult. For example, one team member may like to talk things out and clearly
express themselves. Another team member may be somewhat vocal, yet less
direct. Still another member is more passive and less communicative - barely
talking at all. It will take time to learn the non-verbal cues and pick up on
the little signals that alert you to big problems. I encountered this at work. On
one project we developed a quarterly newsletter. Each of us drafted an article
to contribute. Next, we revised each article together as a team. One member,
would get completely silent if edits were made to their article. It took us time
to realize she was communicating through her silence. Today, we hear "guys, I
worked hard on that. I am a perfectionist and I tried my best to make it
perfect. It hurts my feelings when you critique it." We reacted by reassuring
them that their work was valued and that we all had different styles. If asked
how to "strengthen a team?" I would respond by saying start by listening and
learning everyone's communication styles. Typical Challenges that occur as a
team develops for me I would say is personality clashes that would be my
number one thought when developing a team. I have encountered different
personalities that clashed where there were 2 like personalities that maybe had
to take control where as you had other personalities that were more adaptable
but they also got the brunt of the other personalities and at times were left
out. I would try to break up the teams into smaller teams where each team
had different personalities that were not alike. Then after the teams each had a
discussion I would bring them back together as a whole for input. The other
team members adapted to the way I set it up as they did not feel as
intimidated and the others not left out. The reactions are normal for teams you
get a mixture of personalities and you just have to develop the teams
accordingly. If my supervisor asked my what it means to strengthen a team I
would think first and foremost Team Building. Whether inside of work during
meetings or outside of work activities. Appreciation is another way to strengthen
a team it boosts morale. When a team is put together sometimes personalities
clash immediately. These are the most obvious, but sometimes this will happen
over time as teammates work together. At times it is over communication, there
are so many trips in this department. Some people are long winded others keep
it short and simple. There is a balance in information people need and not
having the appropriate information for tasks. It is important to keep information
sharing professional in a team, everyone is busy and have jobs to do, we have
to keep this in mind.
I have had some issues with communication, mainly just misunderstandings and
not enough information. Nothing too major and nothing that caused serious
problems except for one. At my old company I was part of a team put
together to open a new warehouse in Nebraska. The GM for that location asked
me to drive the van to my warehouse. I just thought someone else would come
and pick it up there, at least that is how he made it sound. I had no idea
it was a rental, it was just a white van, no rental markings. Two weeks later
I got a call from my boss asking if the van was still there in out parking
lot and why it had not been returned to Enterprise. My boss was mad, not so
much at me, because I explained the situation and he knew I was not that
incompetent from our years together. However, I still felt guilty and upset that
that had happened. I took it back to Enterprise and turned it in and I did not
normally work with that GM. So, I did not call him or send any
communication about it I am sure he heard it from my boss though. yy
The biggest typical challenges that occur while developing a team would
definitely have to be the lack of diversity, and clarity. Differing cultural
assumptions can more than less make it harder for a team to bond. Without a
team being able to properly bond will eventually lead to friction and
misunderstandings, this therefore hinders the achievement of goals within a team.
During my current job we have experienced the lack of diversity and clarity in
our teams, for example we have these two Spanish speaking employees who do
absolutely wonderful work when working with each other. During our meetings
as a whole company is when it starts to become difficult for them which leads
to it being difficult for us. This is where clarity comes in, without clarity of
our meetings topic the two natives cannot fully understand what we are trying
to achieve without us pulling them aside and having separate meetings for them
to have better understandings of the topic up for discussion. Being lost in
translation ends up adding to the problems they are already trying to adjust to
when being on a team that does not have a lot of diversity. This leads to
them being discouraged and keeping their head down, not feeling as though they
can speak freely or being useful enough to offer up their valid ideas to
improve our teams.
In the beginning me and some other co workers did not react as well as we
should have. We found this diversity in our team to be quite frustrating and
time consuming. Me and other supervisors were having to take time out of
what we were doing already to bring them into another room to have separate
meetings so they could get a better understanding of what happened in the
previous meeting. This therefore defeated the whole purpose of a Team meeting.
Not having the whole team together as one to bounce off of each others ideas
led us to not really being able to improve as we needed. Our reactions were
completely inappropriate and after taking the time to sit down and talk to other
supervisors about this we began to see how this was not the appropriate way
to react. I thought about what if it was me in their shoes, how would I feel
if I noticed what was going on. It was discouraging to me and made me
really take a step back to see how we could change this aspect of our team
and the way we handled it.If my big boss came to me and asked what it
meant to strengthen a team I would have to say specifically for our diverse
team it would be hiring someone who could speak both languages, a translator
possibly. Without a translator on such a diverse teams, asks for conflict. We
need a way to have everyone on the same page in a comfortable environment
where they feel welcomed and can be understood. This would benefit the overall
team indefinitely. Some challenges that occur are not asking questions, which
can lead to not knowing what to do. Clarity can become an issue as well, if
the instructions for a task or role are unclear it’s likely the project will be
incomplete.With my previous job we did have issues with clarity, we hired a
few new people therefore the daily task list and breaks were changed. Because
we had two call centers on different time zones, some wouldn’t have their tasks
completed before the next person because they weren’t aware of the changes,
or were confused on when the new schedule would start. This would cause the
entire day to be behind because we would have to finish the previous shifts
work before being able to do ours. This happen a few different times and each
time it was an unpleasant situation. Me being on of the team members being
affected by this, I brushed it off the first couple days because we all
understand the confusion. But from there I messaged the person directly with a
friendly reminder of the changes and tasks (normal procedures), if it continued
to become an issue the supervisor would need to step in. However, the times
I approached the situation with a friendly attitude the situation was resolved and
there were no personal feelings or conflict. To strengthen a team would involve
myself and others, understanding each other’s weaknesses and strengths to be
able to give each person a task they can strive on. For an example, for
someone who is gets overwhelmed easily, I would give this person a less
stressful task, to where maybe they do not have a deadline. I have had a lot
of experience on different teams in the past and some of the most common
challenges that I have seen include personality clashes, power struggles, and lack
of diversity. Out of those challenges, I'd say the one I have experienced the
most is power struggles. In the past, I have been apart of teams that have
two (sometimes more) people trying to fight for the "leader" role. These
situations were always really tough because it would make me and my other
team members feel like we could never get a word in edgewise or offer any
sort of contribution. It would feel like it was either their way or the highway,
but instead of one person demanding that it would be two or sometimes even
three. I felt that was always damaging to the overall effectiveness of the team
because we always spent more time trying to figure out who to listen to and
how to accomplish our goal than we did actually working on the task at hand.
When I was in these situations, I would react in a way that prevented me
from being an active member of the team. I would shut down and not even
bother to contribute ideas because I felt it wouldn't make a difference if the
"leaders" of the group had the final say. After going through some of the
readings for this week, I learned that my behavior was also destructive to our
team by just conforming to the negativity of the group instead of trying to
repair it. If I was asked what it meant to strengthen a team, I would say it
means always participating, contributing, and making sure you are aware of your
strengths, weakness, and responsibilities, as well as those of the other members.
I react very well to all situations that are presented to me. It is part of being
a manager or supervisor. Yes, I needed to adapt to meet the needs of the
business. When I was asked to strengthen my team, I would have meetings
with my office staff. See where they thought about how we work and ask
what we could do better. I would take that feedback and make the necessary
changes to that team to improve their flow and environment. With my
operations crew, I would hold another meeting and ask what changes they saw
to help the flow of things. I would take that feedback and make the changes
that I felt would help the operation and add ideas that would make their jobs
easier. I would do this every few months to keep them engaged in their work
so we would perform at our best. Some typical challenges that may occur while
the team develops are others' opinions and once you are done training. Some
associates that have been taught the proper way end up doing things the way
they want to. As the lead for my group in a certain situation, I would have
a decision with the team to make it known that team members are not
following the proper directions. When one fails we all fail. In order to keep
my team strengthens I need everyone on the same page and comfortable to ask
questions when they are unsure. Never do something going forward if you are
unsure of yourself and the situation. And able to take constructive criticism well
and learn from their mistakes. Knowing what one’s strength and weaknesses are
when building a team are a couple challenges that teams occur during the
development phase of a team. During my experience of being on a team I
experienced both challenges. When getting to know my teammates I had to
figure our what each member was better at doing so that we could know how
to work together as a functional team. The way I would respond if my
supervisor asked me what it means to “strengthen a team” I would have to
respond by saying “learning how to work together and trust one another is the
best way to strengthen a team, along with communication a team could be
unstoppable.” To me those are the qualities and challenges that any team must
overcome, if any team can overcome those challenges then they would be a
great team and have no issues working together. The way me and my other
team members would react to these situations is by talking and getting to know
where our weakness and are strength lied in our job so that we could know
where we would be best suited to properly work together. Some typical
challenges that occur as a team develops would have to be everyone agree on
the task that are made for each person as they work together to get it done.
Also being able to get along with everyone in your team.I have encountered
all of these when working with a team.We all remain calm and open minded.
I think these reactions was appropriate since we can all come to gather and
work together.
I would say that strengthen a team means get to know everyone and use
everyone’s strengths to get the task done effectively as a team. Some typical
challenges are lack of leadership, distrust among the team members and leaders,
misunderstanding the roles of their selves and others, people being put into roles
they do not want or should not be in, lack of wanting to learn more than
one role. I find it to be a common problem, that team members only want to
handle their job and go home, they do not want to do more than they have
to.
I have encountered the team members only wanting to do one job and not
learn the other jobs. This causes friction among the members of the team, they
then have to pick up on the additional workload because that one team member
only knows and does that job.
Some typical challenges that occur as a team develops are situations like
clashing personalities, communication discrepancies, and low morale. I have
encountered all of the above mentioned situations when working with a team.
At my last job, working in the supplement and body care department (wellness
department) of a health food store, (I have many years experience at this.) I
disliked a man on my team. Well, maybe I didn't exactly dislike him, but he
got on my nerves, and made my work day seem super long. Come to think
of it, the woman I worked with before he arrived made me feel that way,
too. She had low morale, and that is contagious! Fortunately, high morale can
also be contagious.
When you are on a team with someone you feel has a clashing personality,
you could encounter all kinds of communication discrepancies. Mostly, between
my manager and I, although we got along and liked each other, there was a
major clash that I could not exactly pinpoint. This would result in me
misunderstanding her communication and direction often.
So, with most of my team feeling like it was not a good fit, even my
manager, I began to think it could be my pre-menopause hormones making me
irritable and annoyed with everyone. They are all very nice people, so why
didn't I enjoy working with them? It made me like the manager less after she
hired those two people.
It was sad when the manager had to let a woman I really enjoyed go. This
team mate just couldn't be on time and show up in appropriate attire. She
actually did not get the ordering, receiving and stocking of shipments done
either, so she could not carry her weight of the labor on the team.
There were others I enjoyed working with who came and went. I suggested
hiring a friend's girlfriend, which we did, and I loved working with her. She
is still there doing great. She and I are friends and have tea or happy hour
occasionally.
I decided to work on myself and try to surround myself with people I enjoy
and connect with. I gave notice at that job with no plan of another job. Part
of me felt like since there was someone good on the wellness team there, I
was free to move on and find some place where I felt happier.
The last day of working at the health food store wellness department, I got a
job offer representing and promoting a local Hawaiian superfood supplement,
which I did as an independent contractor. That job isn't happening now. Maybe
I am happier working alone rather than on a team.
I believe a lot of it resonates with the Chinese zodiac, for me. Once I realized
that these people that were bugging me were clashing with my Chinese zodiac,
I decided to keep my interactions with Roosters and Dragons as minimal as
possible. It may sound strange, but this has been an enormous help to me in
my life. However, I don't know everyone's Chinese zodiac, and need to get to
know them to find out.I did not think the team at the health food store
actually worked like a real team. I was not assertive or motivated enough to
discuss it in a professionally appropriate way. I think I was spoiled working at
Starbucks, actually. They practice more team like strategies at Starbucks than at
the health food store, and everyone seems more equal. I also worked for Whole
Foods, which implements wonderful team strategies and has a vibe of team
equality, as well.I felt like the last health food store where I worked was a
fake team. I tried not to react or respond. I could have handled it better by
presenting some ideas and communication, but I did not want to give them my
energy. I did not intuitively feel in my gut that there was equality and fairness
there. That's a difference I noticed in weighing the pros and cons of working
for a big corporation vs. a mom and pop. I was planning to look for a big
corporation before I got the promotional representative job.If a supervisor asked
me what it means to strengthen a team, I could come up with some ideas. I
would say something like, " it means to connect with each other and
communicate our needs clearly and concisely. " Or, maybe I would say
something like, " it means we support each other." I like to think of the world
as a team. Some typical challenges that can occur as a team develop are poor
communication and leadership, lack of trust issues, and lack of participation
between the team members. I have experienced and encountered all of these
typical challenges and what usually happens is each individual starts to get
frustrated and that frustration can lead to finger-pointing. One of the recent
issues I have encountered is the lack of participation and efforts from each
team member. As a supervisor, my main duty is to inform each team member
about their own duties that they can complete while I work on my end of the
bargain. So I understand when things do not go my way and sometimes I feel
frustrated because it seems that if my whole team does not want to put in the
effort for their part then the whole load of the team falls on my shoulders.
So I try my best to try and encourage the team and make sure that they are
all on the same page as I am. I command the results that I know can be
achieved without having to overwork the team. I also seek their inputs as well
on how we can work well together as a team whether then always having to
blame each other for little mistakes. Team encouragement always seems to work
because having the recognition and support that each individual believes they
deserve can help smooth and work out the dynamic in a team. Some typical
challenges that occur as a team develops can consist of trust issues, poor
communication and leadership, lack of diversity and/or skills, and
attendance/participation of the team members. The situation I recall the most that
I have experienced of these issues when working with a team is attendance and
communication. As an automotive service advisor, you work your own customers
repair orders while updating the system to allow other team members
(managers/other advisors) to be able to come behind you in the event that you
are unavailable so you can understand where that customer is in the repair
process. This was rarely taken care of properly. It caused an exponential amount
of additional work for those team members trying to find out and understand
the details of others customers information when notes were not properly entered
and that advisor was off that day, at lunch, in a meeting, out sick, or whatever
the case may be.
Everyone usually reacted the same, as I did as well when this happened, all
pissed off and frustrated. I do not think those reactions are appropriate, however
they are understandable. If my supervisor asked what it means to strengthen a
team, I would understand that to mean better communication. Typical challenges
that occur as a team is develop are lack of trust and communication. I've
encounter lack of trust because I've experienced not being spoken highly of or
purposely sabotage so the person can reap the benefits solo. Every team may
not be perfect and in my personal situation I just continue to do my part.
Ignore the negativity because eventually and it never fails the rest of the team
will see who the bad apple really is. My reaction was appropriate because it
didn't cause confusion or disrupt the team's objective. If my supervisor asked
me what it means to strengthen a team, my response would be making sure
that my team is aware of their importance, opening up communication so trust
can be established, as well as ideas flowing. I would lead by example and
make sure that they understand my role on the team as well. Biggest complaint
I hear about team leaders are that they do not do nothing. I believe that is
commonly spoken because the team members are not aware of the additional
required behind the scene that is put on the leader. The initial development of
a team often begins with the separation of duties between the team members.
This process can be awkward or even feel a bit forced while each team
member is feeling out the group. Once roles have been established there is
generally a leader that emerges amongst the team. This can be a make-or-break
moment depending on that leader's approach to leadership. In a great team, the
leader is more of the spokesperson that can help resolve conflict amongst team
members. Instead of asserting power to get the job done their own personal
way, a great leader will use the teams strengths and weaknesses appropriately
to benefit the group.
I believe what it means to "strengthen a team" is simply to let go of personal
desires for how a team should work. A team only really works great if every
member is working towards a common goal. When team members are each
pulling in their own direction it can lead to conflict amongst the group. Some
typical challenges that can occur as a team develops is the difference of
opinions on the team functions. There is always one person that will usually
stand up and take leadership right away. This leader may start delegating duties
and responsibilities for each team member. From personal experience I know that
usually does not go well. Some may feel as though their part is “too much”
or sometimes “too little” and would be vocal. Also, communication sometimes
gets overlooked. Therefore, the team is not on the same page with outcomes.
In the past, we learned that it was easier and voice opinions and concerns
from the start. If someone felt that ideas, goals, and/or directions were not
clear, then we would voice those concerns. We also created a group chat to
make sure everyone was tracking information.I believe that reactions of prior
team members were always appropriate. They addressed and spoke to each other
with respect. They started concerns and included everyone in problem solving
ideas. To strengthen a team means listening to all opinions on what can
improve and applying. It also means treating everyone like a leader. Some
challenges that can come when forming a team is working with others. Everyone
may have an idea of what they want to happen within the group, and it may
cause conflict or confusion. Sometimes, too many people want to be the leader
of the group and there could be a lot of bad communication skills amongst
team mates. When problems would arise within my dance team in high school,
we learned to take the steps to get down to the root of the problem. We
would spent practice talking about what the problem was to we could find a
solution and move on. Our coach would make us work on our problems quick
to avoid splitting the team up. If a supervisor were to ask me how to
strengthen a team, I would tell them that first we must get to know everyone
within that team, Learn communication skills that can help the team work
through problems. Also I would have team members doing small skills every
day that would help strengthen the team. As a team develop I believe some
typical challenges such as poor communication amongst each other, lack of trust,
and dictatorship just to name a few. I can honestly say I have encountered
every single last one of these situations, mainly at a job and I can also
remember countless of times encountering these situations in high school. When
I encountered these situations at my job I just went with the flow and didn't
say much even if I knew that my idea would have been more effective for
the team. Other team members reacted by arguing and going back and forth to
the point where it got out of hand and became very unprofessional for a work
place. I remember when working in teams in high school and I encountered
these situations I would sometimes just leave the team all together. Based on
what I learned this week I would say that how I handed the situations at work
was ok but could have been handled differently by me speaking up because
looking back I showed lack of communication and as far as school I definitely
didn't handle that well by just quitting on my team If I was asked by by
supervisor what it means to "strengthen a team" I would say to communicate
every way possible in a positive manner, be clear, and just simply work
together. Some typical challenges that I believe occur as a team develops, I
would have to say communication. When it comes to communication; you listen
to understand their meaning, read their meaning, observe and infer their meaning.
Lack of trust; trust is very crucial to teamwork and getting to know your team
is always a great start. Lack of transparency; transparency is a new norm and
expectations are growing. Poor management change; when change is constant and
unless carefully managed, it can detrimental to teamwork and results.
The situation that I encountered when working with a team out of the ones I
listed above would have to be communication. I have been in a setting where
team members didn’t know how to talk to one another. Team members would
over talk others and would point out others flaws with the intent to shame or
just hurt feelings. Many time meetings did not stay on topic due to lots of
micromanaging.
Other team members would engage in all the unprofessionalism that was taking
place. There were maybe 3 of us that would sit quietly until the madness was
over. Based on what I learned this week, the reactions were not appropriate
and the person that had the floor should have been given the respect to lead
the meeting effectively. I would bring some team building skills forward to help
me with strengthening the team if asked by my supervisor.
Challenges that can occur as a team develops is that other members can believe
that they bring forward a certain role, and that they will not budge. Also the
individuals managers' might not talk to the team members before the project to
be heard, and there could be too many different personalities that clash together.
Situations I have encountered working with a team is when we would have a
team meeting to discuss our ideas, some members would only listen to certain
ideas, and not the team as a whole. For a team to succeed all ideas should
be heard, and if the ideas are not listened to some people could have their
self-esteem effected because of that. Knowing what I do now my team members
and I approached these issues the wrong way, we ended up just backing down
and going with what was being discussed. If this was to happen now, I would
ask for them to listen to my idea again, and if they would have refused it I
would have went to the manager and tell them the issue. To strengthen a team
would be to get to know each other, listen to all ideas, and to make sure
everyone felt heard. Another way is to make for sure all members feel
appreciated, if one feels they are not the willingness to complete the goal/project
will be non-existent. I would say some typical challenges that we face not just
at my new position, but in general range. I personally have experienced having
to manage different personalities and get to know how others work together.
Knowing what irks one another or even how your managers like things done.
With working for a big company you run into so many different and diverse
co workers. I always make sure to be professional at all times, so that if a
situation arises i am able to remain calm and handle it.
Not in my new position, but in previous positions i have encountered having
different management. With different managers on duty they all like things done
a certain way. I had 2 very unique managers. One was strictly by the book
and the other just kind of took any shortcut that was available. I constantly
had to go back and forth between the 2 ways they wanted things to be
handled. I became flustered with the inconsistently and decided to bring it to
their attention. Their responses were night and day and their was some clashing.
I just wanted to explain to them that i cannot do both and make each of
them happy. They both understood that and decided to let me choose what i
wanted to do. From there i merged both and even added my own way of
doing things. The end goal was the most important part and we all agreed to
that!
What it means to "strengthen a team" to me is to be resilient, your willingness,
and your constant hard work. You cannot predict the day and challenges arise,
but you keep moving forward and get through it no matter what. Failure IS
NOT and option. Keep your energy positive and your mind focused on the
bigger picture at hand. One thing to keep is in mind is that as we look
back on groups in our lives, we probably were mainly viewing the process
only from our personal perspective. When we are looking back and
analyzing the team processes, we start to view the activities from other
teammates’ perspectives, too. We start to look more at the totality of the
situation. Once you complete this course, you’ll be better prepared to
examine groups that you are participating in from multiple perspectives.
Understanding how a group is working from multiple perspectives will help
you be able to better navigate groups. But you will forever be learning
because there’s always a new combination of variables. Group Development
(or Formation) Stages are very useful to understanding the evolution of a
group. Humans like to be able to predict (or have a pretty good idea)
what will occur in a given situation – it’s just our nature. Predicting what
will happen can help protect ourselves physically – perhaps even save our
lives. Predicting actions can help us get what we want, especially when we
know someone well. The point is that we feel safer when we have a good
idea about what will happen in a situation. It makes sense that we will
feel safer working with groups if we can better predict the likely actions
that will occur at various stages of the group’s development. Some typical
challenges that occur as a team to me would be that many personalities and
different opinions clash causing trouble. I work in a group/team every night at
work. We build brakes for varies companies on a assembly line. During my
time at this job I have faced many challenges. A challenge I have faced
recently has been that in our group we have many people that do not know
how to be a team mate. Many people want to take the leadership position but
do not realize what comes with being the leader of any team. Being a leader
means that you listen to other's ideas and respect different opinions. Being on
a team I have learned that there are many different ways to solve a solution
and not everyone takes the same route to get to that solution. Any time I face
a challenge with any team mate, I always respectfully confront the problem and
find a way between the group to solve the problem . As a person I always
believed that problems should be faced head on, instead of going unsolved. I
believe this approach is very appropriate. It gives everyone a chance to express
their feelings, opinions, likes and dislikes. My response for what I think it
means to strengthen a team is really simple. To strengthen a team it is always
good to acknowledge someone's hard work, give credit where it is due and
compliment them every once in a while. Compliments go a long way and can
turn someone's bad day into a great one. When groups run smoothly life is
simpler. It’s often difficult to know others’ skills until you’ve worked with them
for a while. In the beginning of a team we are just getting to know one
another. It’s not until our first task or even project together that we truly get
to exhibit our skills and learn about others’ skills. In fact, we might not even
really understand our own strengths and weaknesses, especially in relation to the
team’s needs. Keep in mind that storming occurs when teammates disagree.
Disagreement is not bad. Healthy disagreement about how to proceed in a group
leads to team discussion. Team discussion is required in order for everyone to
agree about how to proceed in a group. We normally go through this storming
stage very quickly and smoothly and we are accustomed to discussing various
ideas as they come up during our initial group discussion.
