Form, Storm, Norm.. Now It's Time to Perform!

With our group presentation only 24 short hours away, our group decided it was time to reflect on the past two weeks of work and evaluate how well we collaborated as a team to accomplish our goals. Overall, we reached the conclusion that we work efficiently and productively together, only seldom stopping to resolve disagreements or work past the sometimes-complex logistics of meeting appointments.

We primarily used our Facebook group to keep in contact; we found it to be quicker and more efficient than Facebook messaging, because it consolidated all of our information on one page. We were also able to upload documents to this page, making them easily accessible to the entire group. While it was hard to find common times and meeting places to convene, we were able to agree to meeting at La Plata since the majority of our group members either lived in the building or nearby.

In general, our group did not follow a structured type of power designation. There was no single leader, though members of our group would step up from time to time to suggest what step we should take next. We all participated in group discussions and listened to each other respectfully. We stuck to the agenda for each group meeting and tried our best to escape groupthink by coming up with as many innovative ideas as possible and by bouncing our ideas off of each other. The discussions we partook in engaged all of us and really highlighted the unique contributions each member brought to the table. It is safe to say that our group was much more member-focused than director-focused. There was seemed to exist an unspoken understanding regarding work ethic—we were all, thankfully, focused students dedicated to achieving success on this assignment.

The first stage of our group development, group forming, was performed greatly in part by Professor Narvaez. By dividing us into groups based on our chosen major of study, Professor Narvaez ensured that the group members would at least have one fundamental aspect in common. In our group, we then further dichotomized the roles by assigning each group member a specific business field to study. In addition to assigning a field, members chose which communication issue he or she would like to focus on during the presentation. As we laid out a general outline of what needed to be done, as well as a timeline indicating how we planned to complete the presentation over the span of time we were given, we also began to take note of each other’s work habits and work ethics. After exchanging contact information, brainstorming a bit more about the dynamics of our project, and conversing about our personal interests to get to know each other better, we had finished taking the first step in becoming a real group.

Storming, the stage in which different ideas are presented for consideration, occurred frequently in our group, yet never elicited angered responses or conflict from the members. We quickly realized that it would be easiest to initially work independently in creating interview questions and meeting up with our professionals, before coming back together as a group to pool our information and organize it into a coherent presentation. Thankfully, all of our group’s members were highly tolerant and open to hearing others’ opinions; while there were slight disagreements regarding which were the best pieces of interviews to include, these conflicts were always quickly resolved and left in the past. Upon reflection, every member in our group felt comfortable sharing his or her views regarding the project.

As the clock continued ticking and we began collecting our interview responses, our group transitioned into the norming stage of development. Because we were so close to reaching the due date, we became more focused on the end goal of our teamwork: a winning presentation that would impress both the class and Professor Narvaez. Due to our realization of this mutual goal, the members of our group were all willing to make certain sacrifices in order to allow the team to function better. Each member in our group continued to participate in his or her independent role while also keeping in mind the successes of our group as a whole.

Tomorrow morning, our group will be able to execute the final stage of development – performing. With one more practice run and some final tweaks planned to take place this afternoon, we feel confident in our newly acquired expertise regarding communication issues in the business world. While we are all capable of independently presenting our parts of the project, we also collaborate magnificently as a group, using teamwork to piece together our presentation for the class.

Photo courtesy of Training Touch.