How to Effectively Work in a Team

To have success working in a team, I suggest you follow these steps. First, before you start, you must establish roles to decide who is going to do what part of the project. Second, you must clarify modes of communication that work for everyone. To have a successful project, there are many more tools you must use, but these tips will give you a great start.

Before you do anything on the project, the group must decide on the different roles necessary to finish the project. The first role you need to decide on is who is going to be the leader, who ultimately is in charge of the general execution of the project. Based on the requirements of the group, you must then decide who is going to take care of the rest of the responsibilities (Dumaine, 1983). The leader will be responsible to for keeping the rest of the group accountable for the tasks each participant has committed to do along with their own part on the project (Muraski, 2012).

            The majority of unsuccessful group projects fail because they don’t communicate effectively (Muraski, 2012). Some effective modes of communication includes:

• ·      Email— communicates to the entire group simultaneously
• ·      Text— gets to the team members faster because it goes directly to their phone
• ·      Conference calls— establishes effective discussion but requires more coordination

            One of the best benefits of working on a team is everyone’s specific skills are used to generate a great project. As you create roles tailored to the specific talents of the team, your project will reach its full potential. Good, consistent communication will ensure your project will be done before the deadline. As you learn these skills, group projects will be an advantage rather than an annoyance.

References

Dumaine, D. (1983). Write to the Top. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Muraski, W. (2012). 10 Tips for using Co-Planning Time More Effeciently. Teaching Exceptional Children, 8-15.