Earlier today my collaborative platform team and three other teams had our reflection seminar with Katie and Adele, following on from our individual reflection forms submitted to the Dropbox.
Understandably like most people, I find it hard to be truly honest with my feelings towards things like group projects, just in case of hurting people’s feelings for example. Therefore I really liked the fact that we were required to fill out an individual form before the live discussion. I enjoyed filling this form out, answering the outlined questions in-depth and really reflecting and evaluating on my personal experience of the group collaborative project. I openly discussed that we generally worked well as a team with those that chose to contribute, but disappointingly there were times where some team members definitely lacked communication skills. I highlighted that WhatsApp and MS Teams worked well as platforms/channels to communicate, and that Nataria and I worked well as a pair being team leader and deputy lead.
At the end of the form we were required to think of 3 key points that we have been able to take away from this collaboration and how we might act on these going forward. My 3 points were:
Team work skills. At the beginning of the project I was slightly reluctant as I have often preferred individual work over group work. Being deputy lead and a common contributor, I have personally gained confidence that I can work efficiently with a group. I have been able to communicate strongly my ideas with the group and be a confident team member, whilst at the same time being able to listen to others, sit back and appreciate that others will have equally important things to say.
Time management skills. This is obviously the only part of this entire project that required team work; everything else has been individual. Everyone a lot of the time was working quietly and individually behind the scenes on their own work. For this reason, we had to ensure we made time for our collaboration discussions and planning so we didn’t slack in this aspect of the module. Time management skills was something each team member had to develop and acknowledge for our collaborative platform to be successful.
The effectiveness of collaboration via a social media platform. Instagram was a great platform to utilise to showcase the development of our brands for many reasons. We all had access to the login which was helpful, and we all had our own story highlight which highlighted that we were individuals, but the overall platform was the collaborative element.
The live teams collaborative platform review that followed on from the individual reflection forms was really successful. I didn’t quite know what to expect for this session. However it was really nice getting to speak honestly about our experiences, hear other groups’ perspectives and relay back to Adele and Katie how we worked as a team. It was highlighted that Nataria and I worked well and did a good job at leading and organising the team, which was really nice to hear from our fellow team members. I discussed that although we predominantly worked well as a team, there were times that Nataria and I were the only ones discussing, contributing and coming up with ideas. When I said this I immediately felt bad as I didn’t want to highlight anyone’s lack of efforts, and I hope I didn’t offend anyone when I said this. But I am proud that I spoke up and was honest about this. This was a little bit of a realisation for me. I think one reason why I don’t like team work is that I know that each team member won’t have the same work ethic/drive as me. When it comes to group projects I often find myself putting in more work than other team members, but at the end of it it all comes down to one grade. I don’t like the fact that an overall grade or result doesn’t reflect the hard work that I put in, and that it gets diminished amongst everyone else’s. I appreciated that this session today and in the individual feedback forms I was able to be honest, despite worrying I might have hurt people’s feelings!
Overall I think this collaborative project was a really great one and I am glad I got to take part. Admittedly, half way through I did lose site of the purpose a little bit as I was progressing with the other assessments such as the A3 Brand Boards and Brand Launch Pack. However, the purpose of this collaboration definitely makes sense, and it has allowed me to develop skills that I can take forward in my personal and professional life.
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