To Team or Not to Team

 

I have come to the decision that I will we working independently for this project. It was not the decision I wish I had to make but it is the one I know I will be the most successful with. One of the reasons I chose the option of working alone was due to my kind of controlling complex within my personality. I like to be in control of the work I submit, in my mind it allows me to ensure that I am submitting the best quality work I know I could. This trait of mine became evident when we were doing the Lost at Sea activity in the breakout rooms. I was one of the main participants who was engaging with my other classmates in order to get this assignment done. In all honesty, I feel like without me being there we would have just sat in silence with no one saying anything. That could possibly be due to the fact that through remote learning I haven’t had the chance to really get to know the people in my class on a personal level. Within the article “The effect of personality type on team performance” it states that the group needs an effective leader who “must control the team meetings, persistently drawing everyone into the discussions until a consensus is reached”. Although it may seem like I would be a good leader, the overriding fact that I just don’t have a personal connection with my classmates would make it hard for me to effectively lead the group in a productive direction. By working with myself I already know I will have the self-discipline in place to get the work that I need to do, done.

 

 I got a glimpse into one of my classmates lives through our social media peer account activity. I chose to work on Skyler’s account. Although it was nice to get to know her on a more personal level, and see what she values, I just don’t think we share a lot of the same interests. The article “Team building and group dynamics: creating and fostering a culture of teamwork requires trust, collaboration, and accountability” states that The six-month program establishes a common language for the team to communicate, standardize expectations to improve accountability, strengthen leadership abilities, and create an emotionally intelligent culture”. I really don’t feel like I have had enough personal interactions, or known any of my classmates long enough to create the bond similar to the exemplar co-workers that would be successful for such an important and detailed project. The argument that I can’t create this bond because of simply my lack of personal connection to my classmates is also supported in this same article, it states; “What happens so often is people do a one-time hit when it comes to team and leadership development. People are put in one class and we expect it to change their world overnight,"

 

Alongside my controlling tendencies, I also feel like I have people around me such as my family and friends who help me brainstorm, without the added stress of having them as a partner in the project. One of my other traits that contributed to my decision of working alone would be the fact that I have a very strict schedule outside of school. I am a competitive swimmer so I really don’t have any free time besides from Sundays. Keeping this in mind working alone would allow me to work on my own schedule, without the stress of having to collaborate with a group on every decision I make. 

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