Working in a group is a major learning experience overall. You get to learn a lot of things and get to know your own skills better. Also, while working as a team, you get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses and get used to the idea of working as a team. In most job interviews, one of the primary question is whether you have worked in a team or not. In the workplace, one of the benefits of strong teamwork is that team leaders and members become proficient at dividing up tasks so they are done by the most qualified people.
Moreover, schools and colleges emphasize on teaching the importance of teamwork, and thus, they design many of the curriculum projects accordingly. Today, you won’t be an appropriate candidate for any company, or any job if you can’t work in a group, or if you’re not productive enough in group projects. Thus, it’s always a better idea to get a knack of group working experience early in life, and as many times as possible so you don’t feel problems later.
But, what does it mean to work effectively in a group? A group is about few people working together as one, and if one fails, the others fail too. Only while working in a group, you’ll realize that how your success or failures impact others, and how your negative attitudes become a problem for people around you. In a group, every member depends on each other, thus, how ‘winning’ is the only option left with you. While working alone, you might have an option to give up if you don’t feel like doing a task, but not when you’re in a group. So, working in a group is like many souls working as one individual, despite their differences.
Each participant is not just responsible for himself, but also for all his fellow members. So, if you fail, the entire group's efforts turn into a waste. Thus, you have to make sure, you don’t end up being the culprit. Below are some tips to work effectively in a group.
The credit to the success of every group goes to their successful group work strategy, and if you want your group to achieve their goals, you need an effective strategy for yourself. Below are 10 things to consider while making a group work strategy.
#1. Listen Before You Speak
The first thing you should know about groups is, it’s more about listening than speaking. So, if you want to be productive in your group, be an active listener and use your words wisely. Foster a productive environment for discussion by actively listening to what your group members have to say. When one person keeps on blabbing, the other members may feel insignificant, and they will not contribute in the group any longer. Thus, pay close attention to what you hear, resist the urge to interrupt, and clarify your understanding by paraphrasing or summarizing others’ comments.
#2. Encourage Others To Speak
An individual is alone capable of achieving a task, but working in a group helps in completing the work in the most satisfactory fashion. If you’re the only one speaking and sharing your opinions in the group, why do you even need the group for? A group is made to ensure that everyone gets to share their opinion and contribute value that can be leveraged to improve the functioning of the group. But, each member of the group has a different upbringing and not everyone might be comfortable with speaking. So, you should step up and encourage people to take the risk, speak their mind and share their opinion.
It’s important for every member to speak because more the number of speakers, wider will be the variety of perspectives on a given subject.
#3. Set A Common Goal
A common goal is the one factor that encourages and motivates the whole group to work together. So, if you're working in a group, it would be your biggest mistake to assume that everyone else has the same motive as yours. Crosscheck with every participant of the group if they are on the same page as yours or not. It is very difficult to work in a group where every member is trying to achieve something else, in their own way. If your group and your goals are in sync with each other, well and good. But, if they are not and each one of you is blowing your own trumpets, make sure all of you dedicate some time for brainstorming and come up with a shared objective.
#4. Let Someone Lead
Groups can never be successful if everyone is a leader. There can be only one leader, the rest of the members have to follow the leader. This theory is quite successful and the examples are very common. Have you ever seen two captains in one sports team or two drivers in a car? NO. Things work better when people follow one idea (one person) at a time. So, don’t get offended with this and identify the most responsible, creative person in the group who can lead you better, make them the leader of the group. But, only making them the leader won’t work and you have to instruct everyone else to accept the person as the leader.
#5. Assign Tasks To Everyone
You must have seen a football match and how every player is assigned a specific role on the field. Every player in a football team has a specific purpose, some are supposed to stop the other team from scoring a goal, whereas the others have to score a goal for the team. Similarly, when working in a group or playing team sports, it’s necessary for every member to have a specific task assigned to them. No matter how small the task is, everyone has to have one in order to be contributing to the idea and adding value to the group. No one should be left idle or else they will feel like they’re not being considered as a part of the group and may quit the group soon.
#6. Create Your Deadlines
In order to be successful, it is important for the group to complete the assigned task, or achieve the set goals one at a time. To ensure that every small objective that lead to the bigger goal are met on time, you have to instruct every member to follow the timeline. The timeline or the deadline can be mutually discussed in group meetings when everyone is present. So, if your group has plans to meet regularly, establish a timeline of events with specific dates and deadlines. Discuss what is required and who is expected to do what and when. This will avoid further confusion and arguments within the group.
#7. Set Small Objectives And Divide The Work
Divide the entire task into small objectives that can be completed to meet the final goal. It’s like climbing up a floor using stairs, it’s better to walk one step at a time to reach the goal rather than jumping from the bottom to the top. Thus, break your group goals in small objectives, so it doesn’t look like a big task and then approach and achieve them one by one.
Also, when you’re working in a group, it’s better to divide the task rather than doing everything by yourself. If you are collaborating with a group on a large project, it may be in your best interests to divide the entire assignment into smaller, more manageable tasks
#8. Resolve Conflicts Quickly And Fairly
Conflicts of opinion are very common in groups because of the presence of heterogeneous members having multiple differences, and it may often arise in challenging and effective group work.
If the group ever faces a conflict, or difference in opinion between two members, there is no need for any of them to avoid the conflict and compromise. Conflicts are a healthy part of rational group discussions, and conflicts should be discussed. However, it is in the best interest of the group to resolve all the conflicts immediately if the group is to function properly.
#9. Ensure A Regular Communication Channel
If working in a group, it is mandatory for the group to have a channel to communicate with each other whenever they need to. But, for that, you need all the contact details and a means of communication that everybody is comfortable with, and everyone has an access to.
Some of you might be on Facebook as that seems to be a feasible medium for group communication, but not everyone might be on Facebook. YES, there are people who are still not on Facebook. Other forms of communication channels can be apps like Hike, Whatsapp, Emails, and different messengers. Make sure everyone has one common app in their phone, or everyone is available on your selected medium of communication. Generate a list of everyone’s phone number and email address and give every group member a copy of the list so that you all know how to contact each other.
#10. Meet Regularly To Communicate Challenges
Last but not the least, regular group meetings to discuss and resolve challenges is necessary. Your group can plan to book a place which is good for every member of the team and meet there. Also, a fixed day and time can be decided according to the comfort of every member to schedule regular meetings. The members can note down the challenges, confusion, and progress of the work assigned to them and share it with everyone else in the group meetings, so everyone is aware of the progress. Some good alternatives of meeting places are the public library, a friend's house, a nearby park, or a something which can be used as a meeting room.
The success of the group is measured using a lot of parameters, and the result depends on multiple factors. But, the most important factor is you and how well you perform. So, first make sure you're productive enough and contributing what's expected from you. Then, if you can find out the mistakes in other members, try to aware them of it and help them improve. The meaning of a group is working together in all good and bad times, with all negatives and positives of each other to ensure a balance.
We hope you liked the article. If you feel like sharing your personal experience of working in a group or have some tips that you would like to share, please feel free to use the comment section.
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