Team Building

This week I found out I would be working with Rhiannon and Claire on the Home Starter Pack Project. I'm very pleased with my team as we have worked together in previous projects which have involved very short time scales so I think we will be able to achieve a lot in the time given. It feels like a slight head start that we have experience of how each of us work and what our personal strengths are. Our lecture this week looked at key skills for team work and how we could effectively achieve these within our group.

The key skills include:

- Showing a creative and resourceful approach to a Live Project.

- Working successfully with others.

- Understanding group dynamics.

- Consultation procedures with client and peers.

- Recording all processes involved during the development and implementation of the project e.g. phone calls, methods of sourcing materials etc.

Our first task as a group was to assess our individual strengths and weaknesses and how we could use these to create a strong team dynamic. This involved looking at our individual personalities:

Claire

'Thinker' - strong analytical skills, able to foresee problems and stop other personalities getting carried away with potentially impractical ideas, gathers and evaluates information, can be quiet before vocalising a idea or concern.

Strengths: Good making and research skills, access to her own sewing machine and textile equipment.

Weaknesses: Can find it difficult to talk to new people.

Rhi

'Coordinator/Achiever' - very organised, able to keep the project on track, makes sure decisions made allow progress within the project.

Strengths: Very good at researching and selecting appropriate information, feels comfortable talking in front of people.

Weaknesses: Can take on too much work which can impact on the quality and progress of work.

Myself

'Doer' - keen to get things done, very practical and strong making skills. Less engaged with long discussions.

Strengths: Confident in CAD, strong skills in terms of creating a concept and ensuring this is adhered to and reflected through design, strong making skills.

Weaknesses: Can struggle to articulate ideas, can be disorganised.

We then looked at how these traits could work together to create a strong team dynamic. Rhi has clear organisational skills and so would be ideal for communicating with clients, coordinating meetings and logistics (we discussed how it would be beneficial to have only one team member communicating with the client in terms of organising meetings etc. as to maintain a professional manor by not overwhelming the client and causing confusion, Rhi's skills are suited best for this and so she has agreed to take on this role). My strengths will allow us to create a concept based upon our research which we can stick to and achieve through the design stage. Throughout the process Claire's analytical skills will allow any potential problems to be foreseen and avoided. Having completed this exercise I can see exactly how our individual characteristics will work together effectively to allow us to work as a unit.

Following this we decided it was best to set some ground rules for the project which would allow everything to run a little more smoothly. This allows everyone to know where they stand and understand what is expected of them from the get go.

We established that we should:

- meet for a minimum of 1 hour per week. This would be fit in around our individual university timetables and other commitments such as work. Tuesdays at 3.15 or Wednesdays at 11.15 seem to be the most preferable options as these follow lectures we are all in together and so have minimum impact on our other commitments.

- if one of us is unable to attend a scheduled meeting we should let the other group members know.

- equal practical participation. We are all very keen to be involved within the making process and so will divide this fairly between ourselves.

- complete any tasks we have committed to. If we need a hand, let the group know. As the project will involve us working on individual tasks alongside group ones it's key that we complete any of these tasks within the time scale set in order to allow the project to progress successfully. We're all aware that other commitments such as other projects, health issues or employed work may impact on our ability to complete tasks and will help each other out where needed. This relieves pressure on us as individuals and will keep us working as a team unit effectively.

- play to your strengths! Don't take on any tasks you know you can't complete as well as another team member, by playing to individual strengths we will have a far more successful outcome.

Finally we looked at our key goals for this brief:

- to be ambitious but not over ambitious within the time scale. Bear in mind what is realistically achievable.

- to try to set up something with longevity which could be continued by Inn Churches after the project has been completed.

- allow market research and individuals to influence the project, make sure the end product answers the needs of the individuals we are catering for. This bring me back to what Ben had said in our first meeting about how the idea that someone had invested time in a object (in reference to Homeless Beanies) really made a difference. I believe this is something we should really try to include within the project!

- maintain a balance between the purpose of the end product and our creativity.

Overall I think our key aims and strengths as a group will allow us to run this project successfully and achieve a positive outcome for both the individuals benefitting from the Home Starter Packs and Inn Churches.