Looking back over the last 12 weeks, seriously evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your team
My project team has demonstrated much strength that has enabled it to succeed so far. For example, commitment to the tasks of the project is what has defined the success of the project so far. Without such a commitment, the team could not have so much. The other strength is the ability to manage time properly. The team has managed to manage time properly and allocate it optimally to tasks. The other strength is the high respect that the team has for all the members. This has enabled the members to be able to own the goals of the team and work to achieve them. The group also has the team spirit of the highest-profile and this has enabled the team to create synergy to handle tasks.
The other strength is that we have been a demonstrative group and since the workload is divided equally among group members, the group members know their exact responsibility and they work accordingly together.
The group has not demonstrated any major weakness that cannot be handled. The reason for that could be explained as the good academic attitude of the entire group which includes maturity, a good sense of responsibility, and punctuality of the group members. However, there have been instances that the group started to be a bit deviated into the more expansive and less specific areas of the arguments. In these situations, other members tried to keep the group focused and lead the arguments to the main topics of interest. Therefore, the group sustains its productivity, and waste of time is avoided.
What lessons, if any, did you learn about working with new people who have different viewpoints and different backgrounds to yours?
I have learned that working with people with different viewpoints helps one to view an issue in a broader sense than when working on it alone. Different viewpoints open one’s minds as the issue is being tackled from different perspectives. People with different backgrounds also provide new insights into the issue than when people have similar backgrounds.
I have also learned that people with different backgrounds and viewpoints can be hard to manage especially when a conflicting issue comes up. The Decision-making process may also be time-consuming when each person is giving his or her views.
I have also learned that team projects need a reflective and critical way of thinking and analyzing issues, they require very good time management and higher responsibility.
What lessons about working in teams did you gain from this course that you could apply in future team projects?
I have learned that proper time management is very crucial to the success of team projects. Managing and allocating time for various tasks has been a key task for the group. Without time management, some tasks will be done in haste and hence in a substandard manner. I have seen that projects work better when there is a well-organized schedule of events showing when each task will be carried out the time it will take.
Adhering to the schedule is also of paramount importance in team projects. Formative evaluation of the success of every stage of the project was also very important because it ensured there is a continuity of success in the whole project. This ensures that every task is satisfactorily done and any mistake is handled at the individual task level. I believe these lessons are all constructive for the improvement of my future team projects.
How would you rate your overall ‘performance’ during the past 12 weeks? What pleased you? What disappointed you about yourself, if anything?
I have fully participated in the tasks of the project and have continually tried to keep up with the group by on time submissions and being an active member in the discussions. I have been very attentive to time which has made me demonstrate commendable performance in the overall task. I have maintained a high standard of overall performance. What pleased me most about myself is the ability to coordinate the whole group in time management to ensure that each task was accomplished as per the predetermined schedule. It was a notable strength because I was also active in the other tasks of the project.
There is not anything that I can say disappointed me about myself apart from the challenge of controlling the discussion in the event of different and conflicting views aired by the members. At the time I was involved in the conflicting views but the group as a whole assisted in building a consensus.
Do you think your talents and knowledge were fully utilized in your team? Yes or no? Explain your answer.
Based on the scope of the project, I can say that my talents and knowledge were utilized to a great extent. For instance, facilitating team discussions was one of the areas that I applied my facilitation skills. Also in participating in time management enabled me to utilize my talents and the knowledge I have in management fully to achieve the team goals. The overall project also demanded my knowledge on the topic of the project and therefore I had a chance to utilize it fully.
In the beginning, we asked you to choose three skills you wanted to develop or improve through the team experience. How successful were you in improving those skills? Explain in detail.
Firstly, the skills I chose include how to deal with others or in other words how to be an excellent participant of the team and become a valuable asset of the team, academic skills like time management, writing skills among others and dealing with people of different culture and backgrounds
I have continually been trying to achieve my academic skills such as time managing, critical and reflective thinking about issues, participation skills, and writing skills. Now, I could say through the team experience, I could communicate much better with other group members. As a result of that, I am more active in discussions, in meetings whether online or face-to-face. I have also been able to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures. I believe that I am able to reflect on issues and opinions in the group more effectively. Finally, I feel that my academic writing skills have improved to a great extend by working in the group and by using others’ feedbacks.
What would you do differently next time in order to more effectively contribute as a team member?
To be more effective in the future as a team member, I will learn more about controlling discussions with conflicting views. This the main challenge that I faced during the project. I now believe that discussions can be controlled by reducing the time allocated to a certain issue and an individual contributor. This will ensure that the member contributing only gives the views that are relevant to the topic at hand only.
I will also set individual targets for accomplishing the tasks and perform an individual appraisal in order to ensure that every task I am assigned by the group is well handled and needs no revision. I find it quite imperative also to have individual predetermined tasks and objectives so that it becomes easier to handle tasks that can be done concurrently.
Did your participation in this course provide you with any valuable insights into yourself and/or your future career goals?
My participation in this course has been very beneficial to me and also to my future career goals. Firstly, the course has enabled me to develop important skills like time management, writing skills, facilitation skills, dealing with people with different backgrounds among many others. These skills are important as they will help me deal with people that I will come across during my career life.
Personal time management has also been improved and I can now handle individual tasks effectively and competently. Through working with people of different backgrounds and views has enabled me to handle issues in life in a more insightful way. I have also been able to discover my potential and areas that I need to improve in. the writing skills will enable me to write better reports concerning any research during my career.
I have also learned how to set goals and work to achieve them. The insights I have gained will enable me to set and redefine my career goals to make them achievable. It was a real training ground for me.