TEAM REFLECTION – INDIVIDUAL REPORT –MACKENZIE WALKERIntroduction My aim during this reflection paper, is to analyseand describe the events in which happened during the task. During this reflection,I am going to use Gibbs reflection model because I feel this is the clearestone and it allows more description of the event helping the reader to get moreof a sense of the event, and see what improvements they are going to make inorder to better the team’s future results.
Description of what happened and feelingsDuringthis task, in a group of 4, we created a presentation on referencing. My teamall have skills that complemented each other. A good definition of a team is “a small number ofpeople with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose,performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutuallyaccountable.” (Katzenbachand Smith, 1992, p.45). Forthis assignment, I focused on Turnitin and talked about what it is and how touse it. I also helped with creating the twitter account and posting thingsabout Turnitin to help people learn more about turnitin and referencing.
Ichose to do this part of the task as I had the most knowledge of it having hadprevious experience of the both, this allowed me to feel confident when startingthe task. It was also the topic I was most interested in. “Being interested inthe topic gives you more motivation to get it done and perform better” (Figliuolo, 2014). Evaluation and analysis An aspect of this task that went well was our communicationskills.
We made sure to communicate during our seminars and outside ofseminars in group meetings. We met up to meet our deadline and we also had agroup chat on Facebook to keep each other up to date. “We all communicatedopenly with each other, sharing thoughts, opinions, and ideas.
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This isimportant, as Poor communication can lead to crossed wires that can mean workis left incomplete/incorrect or conflicts can arise. Communication is keyto keeping track of progress and working together efficiently on tasks toachieve successful results.”(Top 7 Qualities of a successful team, 2015)Another aspect that allowedour team to work well together is that we allhad the same set goals which allowed clear direction for the team. Thegoals that were set were all SMART goals. “Smart goals are goals thatare specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound”. (Whitaker, 2015).
One of our team goals was to meet deadlines, If our teamwere unable to do this it may have meant that work was substandard. Another component of this task, that went well,was distributing work out equally so that no one had more work to dothan others. This allowed the team to work better and get it done on time andto a good standard. When delegating tasks out to the team, the team need tothink about who is best to do that job and who has the experience andresources.
If the work was not distributed equally this may have causedconflict and stress. This may lead to the work being inadequate. HEREThe aspect of this task that went well was listening.”We came up with ideas and listened to each other and voiced any concerns inorder to be an effective team. Listening and acknowledging each other showsrespect to your team members and this allows the team to be more open whencommunicating with each other”(Doyle, 2017). My team werealso good at giving feedback, being supportive and hearing concerns. This wasall done over a Facebook chat when we were working individually and neededadvice on our part of the task. Creating the SMART goals allowed us to do thisbecause we all knew what the team goals were.
One aspect we could’ve improved on was pickinga team leader. There was no real team leader in our group, as we all workedtogether. “Having a team leader might have given our team more direction,guidance, morale, and values.
” (Joseph, 2017″). The lack of direction lead to a stressful environment which gave usa slim chance of success. To avoid this in the future our team need to decideon a team leader.
However, this may be difficult as some people in the group maynot have to qualities to be a team leader.Another aspect that we could have improved on was attendance.Although we made each other aware if we could make it or not, it was still hardto get a good result when team members are not attending. Not attending canlead to conflict within the team because someone is going to have to do extrawork to meet the deadline.
This can lead to an uncomfortable workingenvironment and can slow the team down which will not create much success forthe team and can lead to a tense atmosphere. To improve on this, we need to make sure that we allturn up and on time and made sure to check everyone’s availability. We couldset alarms and make it a routine and create doodle polls to allocate a timeslot to suit everyone. Another aspect we could have improved on is answeringthe questions from the audience. The questions being asked after thepresentation were not replied to with great detail due to being nervous.
Therefore, in the future, I will need to think of questions that may be askedbefore the presentation and prepare detailed answers with them. During the task, I was a resource investigator, one of their weaknesses is losing interest once theinitial enthusiasm has passed therefore I need to make sure that I am alwayspositive and keep engaged with the task to do this I may need to read throughthe brief to refresh myself and make sure to stay on task. ConclusionOverall, The thing I couldhave done differently is been more outspoken. In my group, there were veryconfident people. This made it hardly to be more outspoken. During this task, Ihave learnt that I need to express my opinions more often. I also learnt that Iam a good team player and have good communication skills. My knowledge ofreferencing has expanded however, I may need to practice incorporating theminto my work.
Action plan Duringthis task, I have learned that communication is key to a successful team. Theteam worked well together and no conflict arose. However, next time as a teamwe need to work on attendance and make sure that we have everyone attending allmeetings and seminars to make sure no one is doing more work than others and tomake sure our task is of a good standard. Reference Doyle, A. (2017, August 25). List ofTeamwork skills. Retrieved 24 November 2017, https://www.
thebalance.com/list-of-teamwork-skills-2063773Joseph, C. (2017). Importance ofLeader In a Team.
Retrieved 24 November 2017, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-leader-team-52168.html.
Katzenbach,J.R, and Smith, D.K.(1992).
Thewisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization, Boston, Massachusetts,U.S.A: Harvard Business Review Press.Top 7 qualities of a successful team. (2015).
Retrieved from https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/qualities-successful-work-team/.Whitaker, R.
(2017).Harvard study.Smart Goals and You. Retrieved 24 November 2017, https://aboutleaders.com/harvard-study-smart-goals-and-you/- gs.Wdc7NGw
