Reflection of Personal Team Experience
Reflection of Personal Team Experience
Overview
The development of teams could be gauged in terms of standards that contribute to the achievement of defined goals. The current practice team project is to build shelters for the homeless. The team is composed of five (5) members: Gary (me), Jennifer, Mirin, Tan, and Kunar (the team leader). The current discourse hereby presents a reflection of the personal team experience through relaying issues that delve into participation level; the task and relationship issues; team member roles--task, leader, facilitator; and the decision-making, as well as problem–solving styles.
As a team member, I was tasked with the determination on ways to raise funds for our project. The other members’ roles and tasks are as follows: (1) Jennifer: to do research of providing training program for homeless; (2) Mirin: to find a place for building a shelter; (3) Tan: to identify the homeless people in Boston; and (4) Kunar: to summarize our ideas, motivate team members to join the discussion and to oversee the progress and completion of the project . The strengths identified as a team member include: complying with the task which was delegated within the given time frame; collaborating and communicating regularly with other members to ensure that urgent concerns were appropriately addressed; to assist other members in some endeavors that need to be undertaken .
On the other hand, one recognized that the strengths exhibited by other team members also included willingness to assist other members in issues and concerns that need to be addressed; unselfishly according time and effort to go out of one’s way, beyond assigned tasks, to share relevant inputs and comments that were deemed crucial towards the improvement of the team’s progress; and the exhibited understanding of each members’ contribution to the
achievement of goals.
What areas do you still need to work on - why?
Despite the strengths that were exhibited by each of the member, including me, there are still areas that need to be worked on. For instance, in every team project, there were instances of minor misunderstandings due to miscommunication. Initially, since the delegated tasks were perceived to be too general, there were apparent confusion in streamlining required responsibilities. For example, since my role and task is to raise funds for the project, it was initially deemed to be immensely challenging given that no previous background or experience was possessed in fundraising activities. However, with the support and guidance from other team members who provided suggestions and recommendations, I was able to undertake the task with ease and success. Thus, the areas for improvement that were recognized are: (1) the need to work collaborately with other team members and with the team leader to ensure that urgent concerns could be addressed through sharing of suggestions and recommendations; (2) the need to improve time management to ensure that the tasks assigned were undertaken within the stipulated time frame; (3) the need to open communication lines at all time so that any urgent issues could be resolved immediately; and (4) the need to schedule face-to-face meetings on a regular basis to integrate the tasks that have been accomplished and to address urgent concerns and problems as a team.
Conclusion
The team experience made me realize that the participation level of each member is crucial towards the accomplishment of delegated tasks, as well as the eventual attainment of goals. The role of the leader in providing motivation and in addressing problems is paramount. Overall, the project turned to be a success due to the collaboration of members of the team.
References
Lister, J. (2014). How to Motivate a Team With Good Leadership Qualities. Retrieved from Chron Small Business: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/motivate-team-good-leadership-qualities-36865.html
Richardson, P. (n.d.). Project Teamwork. Retrieved from philrichardson.co.uk: http://philrichardson.co.uk/pa450/teamwork/tm_role.htm
