A520.6.5.RB_Team Roles

I consider myself an extrovert and with that come’s this overwhelming need and desire to be a part of a team. Now I don’t always want to be a part of team but when I can be a part of one I usually thrive.

I am a firm believer that leaders are born and the rough edges are smoothed away over time. I have always been the type of person to lead when in a group situation. For example, last week we had a group assignment. Once the groups were established I sent an email to my group asking them to complete the assignment and forward me their information by Tuesday evening so that I could manually compile the posting. It is in my nature to give directions and be as diplomatic as possible when doing so. I don’t want to be overbearing and make other team members feel inferior but I want to make it known that I have a good grasp on what is expected and I will only accept hard work and excellence from other team members; I don’t like slackers on my team. I found it to be a hard balance when I had in-class team assignments when working on my Bachelor’s degree. It seemed as though I would always have 2 or more slackers in my group and it made me have to be a more firm leader and that is not something I enjoy doing. I set expectations from the start and expect for those to be met. I would never set standard for other people if I didn’t feel as though I could complete them myself.

I also believe that when you start a project or task you need to finish it even if you go past your deadline; you need to finish what you start. My mother always said you finish what you start no matter if the end results are good, bad or ugly; this is something that is important to me as a leader. Projects and tasks are not always going to work out just the way you want them to and sometimes defeat has to take place in order to learn from your mistakes. If everyone who was a leader did everything perfectly, when would people learn how to be innovative? When I am working with a team I like to set deadlines because I feel those milestones help for each person to feel as though they have accomplished something. If you are working on a project and you feel as though you are getting nowhere you are more likely to give up and move on instead of seeing things through until the end. Another form of engagement is to make sure I play off of everyone’s strength and make sure their thoughts and feelings are heard when considering new ventures within the confines of the project itself. I have been on many different types of projects and some of those projects included tasks such as providing administrative assistance/support which is fine because it does help to learn how to effectively manage a project but my voice wasn’t heard I did become bored. When I am apart of team and I know my work and voice are being heard I am more likely to keep my level of engagement up.

Collaboration is very important to me when leading or being a part of a team.  Because everyone is different, think differently and have different perspectives allowing for a creative space for those differences to be heard and addressed only enhances a project. For example, Apple and Microsoft computers would not be where they are if two or more people didn’t start collaborating one day. Taking different ideas and putting them together only leads to inventions and innovative ways to think. When I am apart of team I love brainstorming and putting all different types of thoughts out in the open; you never know where one people may take that little thought to.

Incorporating task-facilitating and relationship-building roles into a team will only enhance the team and its members. As the old phrase goes, “There is no ‘I’ in team.”