Katzenbach & Smith once said: “A demanding performance challenge tends to create a team.” Throughout the years in my education experience I was given the luxury of choosing my team members for tough projects and competitions. Recent projects were more randomized in the selection of people whom I would work with to mimic the situation of the actual working world. Likewise from the quote, the demanding performance challenge has changed my team members and I from group members to working teammates. This is enhanced from our tacit understanding of each other’s working dynamics, teamwork and communication skills.

Personally, one of the key learning points from my contribution to teamwork process throughout the module is the understanding of my role as a team leader and member. As the leader for the CG1102 project, I had a greater understanding of the role of leadership and the need to be firm with decision making. I had ensured that it was not only me who focused on the objective of the team but the whole team shared the same focus as well. Maintaining a high morale throughout the project when it became increasingly difficult was vital for me so that my teammates felt supported and valued. Effective teamwork is about setting good example. As a member and leader, I had ensured that submission for my part of the project was always met before the dateline to keep the team committed, positive and motivated.

Communication being an important foundation in teamwork had a profound meaning to me as a team leader and member. My contribution to communication process would be holding on to the principles of ‘open communication’ which enabled my teammates and I to articulate our feelings, share our ideas, and understand each other’s viewpoints. Even as a member of the CG1413 project, I facilitated the sharing of personal feelings, opinions, thoughts, and perceptions about problems as I believed we cannot depend solely on the leader to take charge of all areas. It is also through this effective communication which allowed us to work through conflict openly.

I had made several mistakes throughout the teamwork and communication process such as inefficient delegation of tasks, demanding deadlines and miscommunication. As a result I had learnt to be more empathetic towards others and paid more attention to my communication style. Through all these projects and reflections, I felt it had benefitted me in a way to be a better teammate, thinker and hopefully, become a more successful worker in the future.

6 Comments:

Hey Alden,

From what i know, your cg1102 group always deliver weekly lab reports on time which I feel is laudable. I believed this can be definitely attributed partly to your leadership qualities.

I also like your idea of open communnication. It's is usually when everyone is frank and open can the team bond closer and work more efficiently. With regards to your last paragrah, I believe no one is perfect and we all make mistakes and what matters most is that we learn from them.

Lastly,I look forward to working with you in the near future(assuming you do not transfer to FASS):)

By  Roger Ng, at April 16, 2010 at 11:53 PM  

Hey Alden!

Firstly, I like the quote you have included in the beginning. It's true that our projects have made us forget that we were friends and work a little more professionally although there have been times when we have been too easy with each other.

As you say, we have been given the liberty of choosing team mates all along (Even in one of the elective modules I had taken last semester). In the CG1102 and CG1413 projects, we were 'assigned' team members which does mimic the actual working world.

It's nice that you have mentioned both your strengths and areas of improvement. These are indeed valuable lessons we have learnt.

And personally, I think you have a good sense of humour - you always make us laugh! :D

Good Luck with everything!

Krithika

By  Krithika, at April 17, 2010 at 3:42 AM  

Hello Alden!

Firstly, I would like to commend you for being such a great leader. I can really see that you took a lot of effort ensure that your group was always on track. There are many things that I can learn from you.

Through the course of this module, we learn more about ourselves and can use this as an opportunity to improve on ourselves. Also, we pick up many new skills along the way.

You have been a great friend throughout this semester. Hope to work with you for other projects.

All the best for your exams!

Cheers
Preeti

By  preeti, at April 18, 2010 at 1:43 AM  

Hey Alden,

I felt you had reflected well in your final post and had a good balance of identifying your strengths and weaknesses.

Like you mentioned, your constant stream of ideas and words of encouragement have helped lighten my load as a leader for the project. It has helped bring "life" to the dull moments during our meetings.

Also, I have learnt a lot from you, such as delivering a better presentation to writing a more succinct report.

It had been a great pleasure working with you. :)

Good luck for your exams!
Ying Cong

By  AkiraP, at April 21, 2010 at 12:21 AM  

Excellent post. This article is really very interesting and effective for all viewers. Thanks for sharing with us!!! Communication and teamwork program

By  Sanya saxena, at July 27, 2015 at 8:23 PM  

I truly liked the simplicity and audacity based attitude in writing this blog.

By  Mathew Thomas, at February 11, 2019 at 4:30 PM  

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