After the completion of any project, it is imperative for all those involved to reflect on the entire process and evaluate it for improvement in the future. Group projects usually demand a degree of collaboration and coordination between the various members of the team (Cheruvelil et al. 2014). I too was part of a group project, where we were asked to make a presentation based on a topic that had been provided to us. The group project turned out to be an enriching experience for us because we acquired a number of skills in the due course of the process. I will be discussing that in details in the following sections. The paper will focus on the role I played in the team project,, my personal observations and a critical evaluation of our performance.
Our team comprised of five members and each member was assigned a different role that would help us in developing our presentation and conducting research for the same. I was entrusted with the role of the coordinator. This meant that I had to coordinate with all five members of the team and ensure that they were all pulling their individual weights in the assignment. I was expected to maintain a record of the work completed and the work still remaining so that we could finish the project within the given deadline. Fir and Pinnington (2014) had opined that the role of the coordinator is of supreme importance within a team because it would determine the performance levels of the group and eventually lead to project success.
I believe that I was perfectly suited to the role of a coordinator. From a very young age, I had always been a perfectionist and believed in accomplishing tasks in a certain way. In all my endeavors, I strive to have a specific plan in mind which would help the project proceed towards success. However, there were quite a few challenges I had to face during my tenure as the coordinator. For instance, there were occasions when my team members seemed to work according to their own plans, which often resulted in conflicts. I found it challenging to coordinate five people simultaneously, especially when people preferred to work according to their own schedules.
As such, it is important to stress on the concepts of leadership and communication when it comes to team work. According to Kyllonen (2013), soft skills, which include effective communication skills, are of the utmost importance in group projects. Without proper communication between each member of the team, the group project is bound to fall apart. Moreover, since all our roles are interconnected, it was important to stay up to date on the individual progress of each member. In order to maintain team dynamic, it is important to maintain open lines of communication.
I believe that the role of dialogue is essential in team work. I encouraged all my team members to voice their opinions and express their own ideas. I did not follow a bureaucratic style of leadership and communication because I believed that such styles would inhibit the flow of creativity. I ensured that each team member took part in the project in a proactive manner and was able to communicate effectively. We met up more than thrice every week to update the other members about the work that had been accomplished and strategies for finishing the remaining work.
I also tried to incorporate a transformational style while coordinating my team members. Avolio and Yammarino (2013) believe that such a leadership style would be most suited to group projects because it encourages participation from all team members and makes sure that no single team leader has supreme authority. I must admit that such a policy certainly helped us finish our project within the deadline.
I used the Tuckman’s model to understand the concept of team development and team building. This model can be used to study the cohesiveness of a team (Humphrey and Aime 2014). According to this model, there are four stages in team work, namely forming, storming, norming and performing (Raes et al. 2015). Another stage has been added which may be called the adjourning phase. In the first forming phase, the group was formed and each member of the group got together to discuss the topic and voice their own opinions about it. In the next phase, we began brainstorming about the various approaches we could use to address the topic.
This was a challenging phase for me because at this stage of team development, the team members still considered them to be individuals and not part of a team. In the next phase, people in the team were finally beginning to realize the importance of a team spirit. It was easier for me to coordinate with the team members during this phase. In the next phase, a more trusting and warm ambience was created within the team where each member felt free and comfortable with each other. I believe that it was during this phase that we achieved the maximum in terms of group performance. Reflecting back on our team performance, I can say that the process of team development was a gradual one. We came together as individuals, with ideas and opinions of our own; yet, by the end of the project, we were able to effectively function as a team and that is what helped us succeed.
On reflection, here are my personal observations about our team effort. I believe that it was challenging for all of us at the beginning to get accustomed to the idea of us working together, with me as the coordinator. It was unusual for me too, for I had not worked in such a role before. Similarly, I assume that it must have been difficult for my team mates to follow my directions. However, we all got past our differences and eventually learnt to work together as part of a team. One of the major challenges that we faced was communication. Each member of the team had a different role to play. For instance, there was one person in charge of procurement of data and another in charge of analysis.
As such, it was important for the concerned individuals to work together so as to present accurate research. There were also a few lessons I learnt as part of the process. I realized that team cohesiveness or the cohesive nature of a group played a key role in determining the overall performance of the group. According to Thompson et al. (2015), a feeling of team spirit or a sense of belonging to a group would help in developing emotional bonds between the various members of a specific group. The grounds for such emotional bond would essentially be the common goal that all team members share (Daspit et al. 2013).
For instance, as part of the team, we all shared one common vision – to put up the best possible presentation, supported by thorough research and finish the assignment within the given timeframe. This goal bound us together as a team. This emotional bond is extremely important for group success (Castano, Watts and Tekleab 2013). In the forming process as mentioned above, we all consulted with each other and set benchmarks or standards of behavior which were to be adhered to during the course of the project. This helped us organize our work and complete our task without too much hassle. I also learnt that working in a team has its own advantages and benefits.
Since a large number of people get together to work on the same project, there is a diversity of ideas and knowledge. Camaraderie amongst the workers is beneficial to the team dynamic. As such, team cohesion may be used as a measurement of the performance and success of the group. It can also be said that a team that shows high levels of cohesion would be more effective and cooperative in nature. Conflict resolution is another important lesson I learnt. Projects like these often result in high tension situations and stress (Halperin 2014). This might lead to conflicts, as it did in our case. This was mainly evident in the first stages of team development. Most of the team members had their own ideas and were unwilling to accommodate ideas and inputs from others.
This led to conflicts between two of our team members. As the team coordinator, it was my responsibility to ensure that these conflicts were resolved peacefully. I would also like to highlight room for improvement for similar tasks in the future. I would like to work on my communication skills because I struggled to effectively communicate my viewpoints to my peers in the initial stages. I also made a major error in maintaining records of tasks completed when we were nearing the deadline of our assignment. This was my first attempt in a coordinating role, and despite my structured plan for the project, there were a few unexpected obstacles which could easily have been avoided.
Thus, in conclusion, it can be said that our group effort was a success, despite the myriad hindrances we had to face. I have come to the conclusion that a team is build in different stages, as shown by Tuckman’s model of group development. I observed the various stages of group development within our team as well. On reflecting on our performance, there were quite a few things that I learnt as part of the process, as mentioned earlier.
References
Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Castaño, N., Watts, T. and Tekleab, A.G., 2013. A reexamination of the cohesion–performance relationship meta-analyses: A comprehensive approach. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 17(4), p.207.
Cheruvelil, K.S., Soranno, P.A., Weathers, K.C., Hanson, P.C., Goring, S.J., Filstrup, C.T. and Read, E.K., 2014. Creating and maintaining high?performing collaborative research teams: the importance of diversity and interpersonal skills. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12(1), pp.31-38.
Daspit, J., Justice Tillman, C., Boyd, N.G. and Mckee, V., 2013. Cross-functional team effectiveness: An examination of internal team environment, shared leadership, and cohesion influences. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 19(1/2), pp.34-56.
Halperin, E., 2014. Emotion, emotion regulation, and conflict resolution. Emotion Review, 6(1), pp.68-76.
Humphrey, S.E. and Aime, F., 2014. Team microdynamics: Toward an organizing approach to teamwork. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), pp.443-503.
Kyllonen, P.C., 2013. Soft skills for the workplace. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 45(6), pp.16-23.
Mir, F.A. and Pinnington, A.H., 2014. Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success. International journal of project management, 32(2), pp.202-217.
Raes, E., Kyndt, E., Decuyper, S., Van den Bossche, P. and Dochy, F., 2015. An exploratory study of group development and team learning. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 26(1), pp.5-30.
Thompson, B.M., Haidet, P., Borges, N.J., Carchedi, L.R., Roman, B.J., Townsend, M.H., Butler, A.P., Swanson, D.B., Anderson, M.P. and Levine, R.E., 2015. Team cohesiveness, team size and team performance in team?based learning tea
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