I work with others on a daily basis, handling situations, not much really can be done on my
own. Now that may sound strange because I am a substitute teacher and people think of you
alone in a classroom of kids, but that just really is not what it is all about. When a classroom
really is functional, I am just the team leader and I have people who support me outside of
the classroom who I am the “liaison” for. The most important factors for my team are
communication and organization or discipline. If my team is not effective, then something
has to be rectified immediately. We do not have the time to make mistakes, education
matters, that is why so much is put in after hours because time is limited with each student.
I would say parents are a part of the team as well. Distant as they are, they are still a huge
part of this team. The fact that they are not “in house” on the work being done is sometimes
a serious challenge. Everything for them depends on communication, the means of
communication are at times ineffective. If a child is supposed to have something signed, but
they lose it or worse hide it.They do not like teachers calling parents to much because some
react badly to that. Also do not want to encourage people who would call every day to get a
full report of their child, time is a huge factor with so many students. One of the reasons the
programs like Remind is so great, but not all schools use these communication Apps. A
time when I had to work with others was on a job and we were preparing the facility for an
audit. I had a group of temporary workers that I had to show how to check inventory. It was
slightly a struggle, keeping everyone on task but in the end, we were prepared and
successfully completed our audit. Keeping my team engaged with the project, making sure
they were doing it correctly and being a team player was the most influential factors. They
saw I was no better than them, I contributed, and that is what helped the team work
efficiently. The effectiveness of the team's outcome came from our team management and
communication skills. The situation I would like to share is a few years ago, when I worked
as a surgery aide, we the aides would as a team all have go in after the surgeries and clean
and disinfect the operating rooms. One of the most important factors that influenced how
well our team worked together is Before each one of us went into the room, we would
discuss which aide would do what, so we all went in knowing where to start since we only
had a certain amount of time per room. Yes, I do consider the team in my example effective
because we were all able to collaborate and execute a plan before going into the operating
room. The location of my team members influenced its effectiveness by knowing what each
member was doing so there was no back tracking over each other’s assignment. Effective
team management is the concept from this week’s activities that I feel apply to my team. I
have had to work with others on multiple occasions, especially at work. I am part of a
special task force that focuses on tracking healthcare received by different
communities/races/ethnicities and the barriers they face in getting that care. For me
personally, the most important factor that influences how well we work together is our
communication. If one member of our team isn’t communicating properly if effects all
members and the ability to do their part, which in turn is a disservice to our community. I
believe my team is very strong in the sense that we are know how to communicate with each
other in a clear and concise manner. We like each other and we all share a common goal. I
love that this discussion topic mentioned the location of team members and how/if it
changes the effectiveness of a team. I feel right now is a good time to talk about this as I’m
sure a lot of people have experienced having to change in-person team meetings to virtual
meetings or no meetings over the last year due to the current pandemic. I know it has
effected my team. We currently meet monthly via Microsoft Teams but before Covid we
would meet in-person once a week. Not being able to work together in person has definitely
changed the dynamic of our group, but fortunately we haven’t let it effect the work we are
doing. Although, I can see how not being able to actually work in person can negatively
impact the work of a team. After going through this week’s activities, I think the concepts
that apply most to the team I’m in was the sections regarding virtual teams. My team is now
100% virtual and because it has been successful, it might forever remain virtual. It will be
interesting to see just how much this pandemic will change life as we know it. Back in high
school, I had a "life skills" class that everyone had to take out sophomore year. One of the
units of the class was team building and working successfully in group environments. As a
result, the teacher had us do a project where he got to team up with our friends and build a
model house. And at the end of the quarter, we would display the houses in the courtyard for
everyone in the school to judge.My group consisted of 5 of my befriends and myself.
Honestly, this was a terrible decision. We would get together every day to "work on our
project", but all we did was mess around and hang out. It was so bad that a week before the
project was due, everyone had their houses completed and were just working on the
finishing touches, and we hadn't even bought any materials! We ended up buckling down
and sleeping over one of my friends house every night for the last week, and when it came
down to judgement day, we got first place.In my opinion, I do believe our group was
successful and effective. The reason being, even though we waited till the last minute, when
we pulled together, we got a LOT done in a small amount of time and we did it well.
Honestly, I feel like us being friends both worked for and against us. We were able to pull
together even though we procrastinated so much. Needless to say, we never worked in
groups ever again. I have been blessed to be a part of many effective teams in my personal
and professional life. One that stands out as especially effective was the gas distribution
construction crew I was a part of. We had to work together to locate gas leaks, dig up and
repair gas lines. This was a dangerous and difficult job, but with teamwork it wasn't only
possible to do it well and safely - it was fun. On one occasion we were in a deep hole and
the gas pipe ruptured. The result was blinding and deafening. Initial instincts told me to run.
But the bond of brotherhood, trust and training we received told me to stay and help the
others. I stayed and kept operating the valve to turn off the flow on my end - not certain if
my counter part on the other end did the same. As the gas gradually shut off we both knew
the other was there - doing our part. This is just one example of many where we put our
lives in each others hands and worked together to provide for our families and get home
safe. I now have a much safer desk job, but I fondly remember those days and the trust and
friendship we had as a team. I currently work in the office of a company called Home Pro,
on the opposite side of the building there is another company called Home Craft. Both
companies do roughly the same thing, the only difference between the two is the style of
product they use. I was trained on the Home Craft side before coming over to Home Pro, so
to say the least I know as much as you can about both sides. Today our team had to go over
to the Home Craft side because they were short staffed. Changing our location and
environment to the Home Craft part of the building today to help them out ended up not
working out at at all. It was so stressful for one of our team members she broke down in
tears, this led to our team going back to our side (Home Pro) and doing the other teams work
from our original office. Once we got back on track in the comfort of our office the
productivity began to sky rocket, we were pushing out positive numbers and feedback left
and right. The concepts that applied to our team today were helping in dividing the work up,
identifying issues, increasing productivity, and most importantly communication. I consider
my team to be effective when working in a location we are comfortable in, which my theory
was definitely proven today when trying to be moved to another location just to assist
another team with their work. When in our office we divided up and organized the work
according to what each team member excelled in, this is where communication really
mattered. Doing this instead of just going head first into the work led us to identifying the
problems at hand and taking control of the situation. I used to work in a call center, we had
a transition during covid where our small office was handling all mail for hundreds of
thousands of customer mail. This transition was stressful to say the least, I oversaw
everything, outgoing mail, creating logs, printing documents etc. For the system to work, our
entire office had to work as a team to stay on top of the workload and stay organized.The
most important factor is communication and clarity. Each plan had completely different
instruction from each other, so with it being so confusing having clear instruction for our
team to follow was essential. Additionally, understanding everyone’s workloads, knowing
who has time to finish and who doesn’t. It would be unfair for someone who has other tasks
to put those off for something less important.I would say it is effective because we were able
to solve a problem but setting up an organized system to complete tasks and providing some
designated time. Providing everyone a less stressful situation (because it was stressful) goes
along way when you work closely with co-workers.The concept of of improving quality of
work life seemed to be appropriate for this situation. Although mail may not seem that big of
a deal, when you are working with confidential information every single piece of mail is
logged and confirmed before being mailed out, on top of return mail and updating address. It
is a lot of work for just one task, which is why we used to have a whole department for it…
Having an organized efficient system helps reduce stress in our office, it makes a world of a
difference when we dealt with difficult customers all day. It actually gave us each a time
during the day or week to listen to music and not take phone calls. I work for Costco as a
supervisor and to be honest sometimes it can be challenging. One of my tasks is supervising
a group of individuals that are assigned to me to monitor and make sure that they are on
track when it comes to their work performances. This means I have to hold them
accountable for when they are late all the time or when they do not show up for work. As a
team leader, I am always understanding of their situation and I try to make sure that I am
listening to the problem and also try to receive feedback to know whether or not I am doing
a good at supervising this group. Just like any other job, there are goals and criteria that need
to meet each week or each day, and depending on what the goal is how we interact as a
team. For instance, signing up members for a Costco Visa card is not always the easiest
target to hit. It all depends on how well we sell it to a member and if they chose not to
participate then that is all up to them. I believe that working together as a team is good
because even though there are different opinions and perspectives about a subject but they
can also come together and figure out a solution to the problem. I had to work with others at
work. I work for a company that is a vohab for individuals with DD. We prepare and help
them with getting a community job. With that we have a variety of jobs for them to do and
help them understand what is and is not acceptable at a community job and it takes a team to
work with individuals with DD. You have yourself, their SSA, your boss, your coworkers,
and their staff or guardian. You all work together to benefit the individuals work life and life
in general. The most important facts that influence how well the team works together is good
communication and good listening. This job can be frustrating in many ways but its the little
things that really help make it a little easier for everyone. I do consider the team in my
example effective. We work well together and give the individuals the best we can. For my
team location is not a big issue because as long as we can communicate in some way its
okay. Team roles and resolving conflicts from this weeks activities apply to the team I am
in. When I worked at my previous job we had to meet a certain goal as a whole with the
other cashiers. We had to make the experience great for the customers, and meet a certain
number of credit applications. Working together as a team we all remained positive, and
would say congratulations if we got a credit, with us remaining positive, encouraging, and
helping each helped us succeed. Our team was effective for the most part, there were days
that we did not meet our goal, however we remained positive, and still encouraged each
other. Even though we did not choose our team we still worked together, and tried our best.
If we were trying to get a credit, and the customer said no our managers would come up and
explain the benefits of having the credit card, which was a great feeling to have that support.
In the mornings before our shift starts the managers hold a huddle meeting, and our current
rating, and goals are discussed before we open the doors for the customers to begin their
shopping adventure. I attended a networking retreat where part of the time we were split up
into groups to work as a team for activities, One of the activities involved us all coming
together, talking about the activity and what we were going to do to complete the activity.
The activity involved working as a team to build a contraption that will take styrofoam
peanuts and put them all at once into a can utilizing materials given to us. My team got
together planned and talked things out before completing the task. Other teams went right
into building the contraption and attempting to complete the activity without first
collaborating on what they were going to do. My team after building the contraption only
took one try and got all of the stryrofoam peanuts into the container. Touching the container
or styrofoam peanuts were not an option. I feel like by my team talking it out before diving
into the activity showed teamwork because we were the only team that was able to complete
the task on the first try, I had to engage in teamwork while working at Ford Motor
Company. We had to be a team in order for the line to work efficiently and safely. There
were a lot of moving parts, if one person did not do their job the rest could not either. Our
team had to be effective. There was safety involved in every job and position on the line.
Not only for us employees but also for the customers. The company had to make sure that
the positions were spaced out just right, to allow the employee time to finish their job before
it got to the next station. I feel as though efficiency, support, and communication applied to
our team at Ford Motor Company. We had to be able to effectively communicate if there
was a problem with our position. If we did not communicate, there could be serious
problems in the near and far future. We also had to support each other. For example, if the
person before me could not drive the bolt and I had the means I could drive it for them if I
had the time. We needed to be efficient for our other co-workers our leaders and our
customers. While there were different departments such as the final line, which is where I
was at on night shift, there was also a door line and engine line. We still as a whole worked
together to beat cars built and finished compared to the day shift. I remember working at this
one company and at the end of the day we all had a job to be completed before anyone could
leave and one job couldn't be done without the others. The most important factors that
influenced how well we worked together as a team was cooperation and trusting that each
person will complete their task on time so that we can get off of work on time. I would
definitely consider my team effective because we always got our task completed on time
there may have been maybe once or twice where we fell behind abut 5-10 minutes. Having
very good communication skills is what applied to the team I was in. We always
communicated very well as far as letting one another know if we were going to be behind on
our task or when we would be finish our task. I think communication is very important when
it comes to working as a team. By communicating well you know where everyone Is in their
task. Teamwork is something that I have experienced even in my personal life.
