Thursday, September 22, 2011
Working Groups vs. Teams
Sometimes you forget how a common simple term can be used all the time but with such different meaning behind it. For example, so many times the word "team" is used, whether it be for an sports activity, or a project at work or in school, but what is that word representing? What Katzenbach and Smith discuss is how the word "team" brings more of meaning. A real team will bring more to the table than a "group". The people on a team work as a whole and have a common goal and purpose. They rely on each other and will do anything for each other in order to reach their goal. So many times I feel, especially on sports teams, a person will get so selfish and because they think they need to do everything themselves in order succeed, they will take over. I think we do this a lot in life, usually making things more complicated for ourselves. When working on projects, or playing a sport, or in many other situations, we need to learn how to really work as a team with other people. There will probably have a better outcome, and it will probably be much more enjoyable, no matter what is getting done or what is trying to be achieved. I don't think many people act accordingly anymore, and it's something to think about.
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Lindy, I think you make a really great point when you mention that people often try to take over "team" work and complicate things. It seems like in most of those situations, it stems from a focus on the individual rather than the team. I don't know how many times I've taken on the bulk of a group project by myself because I have worried that my peers' work wouldn't be good enough and it would make me look bad as a result. I'm sure there's someone else in most of those groups who is also more than content with this situation because it means less work for him or her. Regardless, there is significant consideration of how group work reflects upon oneself. I think that when we let this become our primary focus, rather than the actual task at hand, we hamper our ability to function as an efficient team.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Lindy, especially with the selfishness on sports teams. We use the term team so broadly these days that it can mean so many different things. It is so easy for one person in a group to become independent, and ruin the interdependence of a team. When that happens the team doesn't perform nearly as well as it could.
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