Teamwork makes the dream work…right?

Let’s be honest – group work can either be the most delightful or most agonizing experience. We all have to go through it whether we like it or not; we have all had times where we pray for a project to be individual, but then the professor says the dreaded, “And now I’m going to put you in groups.”

I believe the finished product of a collaboration can turn out well if the collaboration itself is not a fair or delightful experience, even if this may not seem necessarily equitable to the one doing all the work. I also believe, however, that a finished product can also turn out badly if the collaboration process is messy or unequal (which is a given). With that said, though, a collaboration can feel right, but the finished product just might not turn out to be what it should have been or what you may have hoped. I guess what I’m trying to say is there are extenuating circumstances to all situations, and collaboration is certainly no exception. In fact, collaboration may be the very origin of the concept of extenuating circumstances impacting the outcome. Ideally, the perfect collaboration would entail everyone doing their fair share of work, meeting and even going beyond the requirements for the finished product, while each member’s personality and work ethics click with everyone else’s. Additionally, it seems essential for everyone to be able to bounce ideas off one another without judgement or hard critique. If this scenario feels like the sugar-coated, sparkly-eyed type of scenario, that’s because it is, but I do believe it is possible to come by and even to work through with a group that does not initially meet those standards.

In collaborative work, I like to create and write down a plan of attack for the project at hand. This includes multiple forms of contact with group members, what needs to be done by when, and how the work is being divided (as equally as possible). I also like to have some sort of form of communication outside of in-person work time to open up the ability to check up on one another to ensure we are getting through our share of the project alright, and to see if any adjustments to our plan needs to be made. In my head, this is as much control as I can have over how a collaboration works. The personalities, work ethics, and motivation of others is something I simply can not control, but can certainly plan for and adjust if needed.

As far as the other end of the spectrum (working alone), this is something I often prefer, as I can go about the project in my way and in my time, without having to worry about others who may be less motivated or inspired as me. Sure, I will have to do more work if I work alone, but I often thrive at times of having a formidable task to take down on my own. That is not to say I do not work well in groups; I simply have a lot of anxiety about a potential lack of work ethic from others if I work in a group, but I am flexible to whatever situation I have to go about for a project.