The team charter
was created with very little conflict among the members. Some of the behaviors that
contributed to this were organization, cooperation, good communication, and
flexibility (How to be a good team player, n.d.). I have worked with two of the
other team members previously and I think this has helped in the smooth formation of
this charter. We understand that in order to move forward in a timely manner,
organization is a big factor and we have agreed as a group to work on
assignments early and decide which team member will be responsible for the
compilation and ultimate submission of the assignment as well. We have been successful in communicating
what our needs and strengths are and I believe that this cooperative attitude and
flexibility have helped us create the charter as well as begin to prepare for
the TA in module 3.
There was not a
significant amount of time spent on problem solving but we did experience an
issue during the creation of the charter. One of the problems that we
experienced was the fact that Katy and I both made the
mistake of mentioning our old team member, Kurt, in our responses. Damien, who
was the lead on this particular assignment, pointed out the fact that we made
this error and sent it back to us to be fixed. While he could have fixed the
problem himself, I think that once he noticed the problem, he told us so that
we could be more aware of our work in the future. Making other team members
aware of a problem allows those team members to work through the issue either individually or with the team. I do
not feel as though our problem solving process was inhibited in any way.
Because of the
virtual nature of our team, most of our information was shared through email
and Blackboard. Again, due to the fact that three of us have worked together in
the past, there was not a lot of information exchange needed, except with
Frank. He was clear in the discussion board area about when he would be
available and posting in the board. It is evident to me that this team is
obliging and integrating (Brown, 2011). We are all in this together and are
committed to communicating frequently using the tools that we have available to
us. This was not the case on a team that I was a part of several terms ago and
leaves me hopeful for the success of my current team.
So far, there
has not been an issue of power on this team; however, having worked with two of
these team members in the past, I can say with confidence that the potential
for the team to be affected by a powerful member exists. Although I am calling
this a potential power struggle, it may in fact be more of a personality
conflict. This individual is highly motivated and this motivation occasionally
causes conflict. Ultimately though, I think we are all willing to cooperate
with one another for the good of the team.
As I have
mentioned, my team members have exhibited high levels of cooperation and not
much competition so far. I do not anticipate much competition because we are
working toward a common goal. For that same reason, I expect that cooperation
will remain high as it has been throughout the team charter phase.
Process
interventions were minimal but it was necessary for the team to clarify and
summarize our strengths within the document. We were also able to provide
support to each other through the process by setting a timeline for submission
as well as helping identify problems within the document.
Overall, within
the program I have been lucky to be associated with productive teams that have
worked well together. That is my hope for the current team, too.
References:
Brown , D.
(2011). An experiential approach
to organizational development. (8th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
How to be a good team player:Maximizing
your contribution.
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_53.htm
