Workplace Interpersonal Skills: Group Work
79My least favorite aspect of college was assigned group projects. The worst part about group work is how college instructors always think that they’re being so helpful by assigning groups, “Hey everyone. Today’s your lucky day! Your workload is going down because…(dramatic pause)… we’ll be working in groups! Yippee!”
Yes, yippee indeed. Now I’m not only responsible for my own work, but the work of four mindless, text-messaging during class, non-major declaring, rather-be-at-a-kegger kids, who could care less if they pass this class. Yeah, I’m sure they’re concerned with me keeping my A average.
There’s no funny punch line coming; I honestly spent 99% of my college group work time picking up the slack of others and getting little in return for my efforts. No surprise; when I moved to the working world from college, I had an ingrained group work be damned attitude. However, at most jobs you will eventually work with a group of other humans. Possibly, depending on the career you choose, every single day.
Maybe you’ve had bad group experiences like me, and you just know that every group project will suck. Maybe you’ve never worked extensively with groups and you think it’s a terrifying proposition. Or maybe, you’re such a super-star employee that you know you don’t need a group to succeed. Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
Most of my jobs have been heavy on the group work. It’s not comparable to college group work; it’s been much better. I have experienced conflicts at work during group projects, but mostly, I’ve found that workplace groups are ultimately helpful and can even be fun.
The Positive Attributes of Successful Workplace Groups:
- You get to impress your boss and co-workers with your amazing interpersonal communication skills. Additionally, observing your co-worker’s behaviors can give you new insight about which interpersonal skills work well and which skills never work.
- You will meet new and exciting people. You already know Joe who sits in the cubicle next to you; but have you met all of your other co-workers? Studies show that places of employment can be remarkable like high school – you meet a group of friends and stick like glue to them. If you have an inner circle of co-workers that you hang with at work, a group project will help to expand your circle outwards. Every new person you connect with at work might be the person who can lead you to new personal and professional gains.
- You will get more done. If you have a major workplace project it’s nice to be able to divvy up tasks. When everyone contributes to a group project instead of going it alone, the work gets done faster and that means less stress for everyone.
- You can ask for and will quickly receive help. Usually when a problem at work occurs, you set a meeting with your supervisor (if your supervisor can fit you in), and the two of you eventually hash the issue out. When you’re working in a group, advice is just a quick question to a co-worker away. Different co-workers will be able to offer a multitude of varying perspectives on the project or tasks at hand.
- You will be able to offer help and advice to co-workers. This not only helps your co-workers but you will likely receive positive feedback and the incentive to grow and improve your personal job performance.
- You will learn from yourself. How you interact within a group dynamic will allow you to better see your strengths and weaknesses related to interpersonal skills and work performance. You will learn to adapt your effectiveness in order to be useful to the team.
During successful workplace group projects these are the most positive aspects that occur. It’s a far cry from the days of college and I’ve learned to appreciate the benefits of group projects.
It’s fine to talk about the positives of successful workplace groups, but what if your co-workers are still acting like they’re in college? What if the bulk of the work falls on you, and communication skills of the team fall short? Now we’re talking about negative attributes of unsuccessful workplace groups. Not to worry… Coming soon – a primer about how to handle workplace conflict.
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Hi please send me the details,
I am a bit of an expert avoiding groups in further education. If you know its coming, try to big sick the big day the group assignment - hopefully they will forget you - then you can do it all by yourself- in theory more work - in practice it isn't after you just have to do the job - not all the inter-personal s..t
I think u can have a good experience in team work/group work in ur work place as this is the place where people are all professional and eager to achieve their success. Adn u also place the points which a people need to do to achieve success in their profession.
Mishu
Hello... I am a professor teaching a group discussion course this summer. I am having my students post some comments. Since it is true that so much of college involves group work, perhaps a group dynamics course should be a part of college curriculum.
I think you will always find more willingness to contribute to group projects in a professional work place due to the fact that a lack of performance could result in a monetarial loss. Where in an academic setting some student lack drive and responsible, which would cause poor performance on an individual and group level. In my opinion in every group one person is needed to lead and direct the actions of the group. This leader should also accept the responsibility of monitoring the performance of the individual members to ensure that social loafing does not accrue. By creating a setting such as this the group should be able to work in an effective manner.
I think that group projects in the professional world involve more commitment than group members in college. Some college students look to just get by while in the professional world, much more is at stake. From contracts to reputations, everyone must give their best effort in order for the group to succeed. At the same time, a leader must be established to look over everyone's contribution. It is the leader's job to make sure everyone is working efficiently which will lead to achieving the task at hand.
It is definitely easier to be motivated to work in the professional setting because the lack of contribution can lead to poor performance evaluation. For example, if a group member owns a mortgage, it is more likely that he/she will be motivated. As Mr. Coffee mentioned, group members in a work setting have much more at stake.
Working in a group can definielty be a learning experience as the author states you can learn from your group members, as well as learn from yourself and acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. This is so essential because growth in any professinal setting is extremely vital.
As my classmates or better yet fellow group members have agreed, it is clear that in a professional setting working in a group might be an easier task, because of the common interests and goals between the team members. However, though I have been a victim of working in “I end up with the most work” group projects, I believe that avoiding them is not the right thing to do. It is an opportunity to work on your communication skills. Is it possible that the person slacking on their work was not approached and questioned? I know that that is true for me, at times I just let it slide do the work, get the grade, and it’s over. Maybe the reason why group projects in college don’t work as well is because we hesitate when communicating with our peers about our concerns.
I agree with Ceasar Salad! We must be open and honest with our group members. Often times the cause of breakdowns stem from hiding our true feelings about inactive members. Face it, at times we are cowards and do not "face up" to the non-playing group member.
Groups are usually easier to work with when there is a common ground and everyone understands the objective of the project. Groups are being a working progress the more you engage in them the better one will be able to cope with the slackers as well as those who have the same interest in the topic as they do.
I agree with Jspagnola that a good leader is important for a group. Because it often happens that the individual interests conflict with the group's interests and one party needs to compromise, the group members need someone to let them be willing to put the group's interests at the first place. In other words, a good group depends on the way of settling the dispute and reaching the agreement effectively and efficiently. At this time, a good leader will play an important role. If a group has a powerful leader who can stick everyone together, put them at the proper position and then let the group run effectively, this group will succeed.
It seems like the general feeling of team work has a negative feeling, I think that team work,, cannot be solely based on how you feel about the rest, it might also be that the rest feel the same way about you, If you feel that they are lazy or whatever, it is possible that they think that you are controlling and have bad leadership skills. The importance of team work, obviously have to be based on the goal that is to be achieved, and a mutual commitment has to be reached before the work starts. The intention should not be focused on trying to impress your boss or whoever you are trying to impress, but in the experience and the learning that is going to be involved in the process or working together.
It is human nature for people to "stick with their own kind." When given an assignment/project involving group work, almost anyone would want to choose the member or members that they want to work with. We all know that in the real word, we almost never get the option to choose who we work with and I believe it is extremely important to find ways to work with people that don’t share the same work ethics that you have. I believe a great leader/group thinker can find ways to work with different people by finding their specific strengths and how to utilize them to reach the team’s ultimate goal.
Sometimes working in a group can be either the ultimate challenge or the most rewarding experince ever. This is so because a good leader and good teammates make the work go by faster. Consequently, the opposite can occur as well, so if you make the most of the opportunity, you will always get out of it more than you put in.
As an employer and business owner (and mother of 4) I have found academic group projects a joke. Look at the world, people! There is no place that I can pinpoint where every team does not have an assigned leader. That leader might be bad, but is always judged more severely than the team members. A teacher can't be that leader -- they take a hands-off approach and tell students that this will prepare them for life. Please, give me a break. We have people working in project teams year-round. They did not learn to work together by doing group projects in college.
I need some information about interpersonal and group dynamic for my study Thanks for your help and kindness
supertill 4 years ago
Interesting comments on groups....I am one of those individuals who assigned people for groups...I had some misgivings when I first started doing this as I was still unaware of a lot of group dynamics that can occur within groups. Of course with experience comes knowledge and a wee bit of wisdon about "groups" and when to use and not use them.
In organizations, it's a different story. They're called 'teams' and if you are assigned to a team, well.....who knows what may happen. What organizations have yet to find out or are just ubinfirmed is that some individuals should never be put in a team. There are some individuals that just don't work well in a team setting. Lots of reasons and another story. An example: The U.S. and Canada was not founded by 'teams'. They were founded by individuals. Lone Rangers. That state of mind still exists in North America by some people....maybe a lot, and these people like to work all by their lonesome. And usually they are 'great' all by their lonesome. Leave them alone .
I suppose I should stop here as this can get too serious and some team members may not understand....
Al
www.cybercoaching.ca