A behavioural test for how you behave in a team. for example, presenting, communication, bringing project to completion.
In our first session back on campus after the Christmas break, we were invited to think about what sort of team player we are. Our lecturer Noemi provided the Belbin forms to fill in.
When completing the form, I tried to imagine the kind of person I am on my best days:
The results identified me as a ‘Teamworker’. This feels accurate when placed with the picture I have of myself. However, I’m aware we don’t always see ourselves truthfully which is what made the task challenging.
In this session we were placed in small groups to put our group skills to the test.
I began brainstorming ideas, as we came up with a plan of action for the set project:
Kim set up a shared google drive, which allowed us to share documents easily. Fleur created a group on Instagram to allow us to quickly make contact.
We decided on 1 company each, to go away and research. We felt it was a good idea to make these each different kinds of organisations, for example, looking at a human rights campaign, a campaign about poverty and one about the environment. We wanted to cover a few areas concerning sustainability, as we knew our final project would be able the environment. This way, we could gather information about a variety of movements.
We arranged to meet on campus over the weekend to discuss the work for the upcoming presentation. Only Kim and myself were able to make it. It was helpful to work in person, as we could quickly share ideas and help each other when necessary.
We felt that it would be best to focus on 2 campaigns for the presentation, as this would allow us to speak more in depth about the work. The research we had received from Fleur was slightly incohesive and her writing didn’t match the brief. Therefore, we decided to use the 2 campaigns we had each researched.
I wrote a basic script, covering the important points. This would then be rehearsed nearer to the time of presenting.
PDF of the finished presentation:
Working in a group was an enjoyable experience overall. This is for 2 reasons:
- Working in a group allows us to pool our skills together. (We don’t need to each be confident in every area. There is room for us to focus mainly on our strengths and still get the project completed, providing we work with the right people to balance each other).
- I found that morale boosting is real and positive. It felt encouraging to know that we’re in it together and that someone else understands the weight of the work set.
Working in a group was challenging because:
- Not everyone works in the same way. And other’s styles of working may not suit mine.
- It’s not always easy to know when I need to step forward or step back.
- There are more people compared to independent working, this should mean less overall work for the individual. This did not feel like the case.