Group Work...in general.

So as a whole, I screwed myself over with the group work. I went back to my old habits of ALWAYS taking the leadership role. Except for one project, well, sort of.

I have a lot of leadership training and group work experience. And I mean:
- Promotion Head of Student Council one year, then Spirit Head for the next, and then I was Co Prez. I also was a minister for the Eastern North Secondary School Students Association, that organises leadership conferences and my additional job was to get sponsorships and funding. I was also on my school's leadership planning committee for two years, planning a leadership camp and leading groups th develop leadership skills and develop ways to work in groups and, well, in general. I also was part of the Harmony Bridges Plenary Committee three years in a row, planning and leading groups in a full day, anti-racism workshop. I've also attended various leadership camps, ran Leadership programs at the YMCA, have gotten MVP awards for soccer, and was even captain at one point. I've also done a bunch of speeches, including keynote speaking for the Launch of Black History Month in Ottawa, advocating for Angel Hair For Kids, and I was joint-Valedictorian with one of my best friends, Peter.

By this extensive list of my activities I'm really not trying to brag. I'm not trying to say anything like 'wow, I did a lot of ish so you should respect me and my experience.' All I'm trying to get at is the fact that I obviously am not terrible at working in a group, and yes, I do usually end up taking a leadership role if it calls for it, because that's hows I've been trained. And if it calls for it, I know what kind of leadership to use, or how to approach the task(s) at hand.

So it really annoys me when someone claims that I don't know how to work in a group, or that I think everything should revolve around my schedule. I make myself available, and I just make it known that I am prepared to progress re: the task at hand. All that means is that I am ready whenever the rest of the group is. I'm not pushing us into anything unwanted, so I don't see the problem there.

In my opinion and from my experience, there are a lot of keys to good group work, such as focus, organization, time management and the dynamics of the group; how they interact with one another, and as a whole.

But the two that I find are the most important and the most influential to how a group works together are prioritizing and initiative. If everyone is on the same page with their priorities, as well as the group is aware of each other's priorities and where the groups tasks lie within the priorities, it is easier to choose meeting times, and figure out how to get the work DONE.

As for initiative, I think it's important for everyone to want to start. So what if there are roadblocks or obstacles; at least the group is generally in good mindset. But for my group though, it felt like no one had initiative to say 'alright let's get started...' Yes, when there is a week of class left, that's when everyone is willing to work. Earlier in the semester I tried to initiate progress. I even made a little schedule for when we should try to have each project finished by. But I guess it all fell through because certain people weren't willing to start work. I really didn't want to push too hard, but when stuff doesn't get going and time starts eating in other responsibilities, action seriously needs to be taken.

Depending on how the marks turn out, I think I liked the fact that we didn't have exact deadlines for everything. It made everyone see how to time manage properly. It forced us to be organized, well some of us I guess. It still amazes me that there are people in the class who really haven't learned anything in the class, and don't want to. The course has so much potential to open everyone's minds and broaden ways of thinking, but people just aren't appreciative of it. Those rich kids and their abundance of money...

And I'm not the best at organizing my time, or organizing my life. I thrive on being busy and scattered, but there is "method to my madness"(1) (usually).

The thing with me is that I truly love working with people, but for some reason, these seven group tasks were a huge hassle. Even though all the group members lived all in close proximity with each other (VERY CLOSE, as in a few steps or floors away), no one would ever want to get stuff done. Taking a directive leadership approach, I tried to organize the group in a way they were comfortable and everyone was doing at least close to the same amount of work. So I figured if the work was delegated for one or two people to 'head up' each task, it would be easier on everyone, and everyone would have the chance to be the one who everyone turned to/answered to. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out this way. I ended up being the one that everyone turned to, ultimately, for all of the tasks. It backfired of course, but I think it's notable that I put effort into collaborating with these individuals, even though, after first attempting start it out, I knew it most likely wouldn't work out as smoothly as I'd hoped.

(1) Yes. this is a Hamlet reference, I just don't know how to reference it properly. Hey, at least good Billy (William Shakespeare) got attribution.