1. Each really made me reflect on teamwork issues that I have had in previous organizations, and I think that the hardest one for me is probably absence of trust. I have a really hard time delegating the work load in group projects because I have been let down in many cases and know that if I leave the work up to myself then I can have it done the way that I want it done. However, this approach is not good for a team because everyone has valuable experience and ideas to incorporate. I think that the most successful leaders motivate others to do the work that they delegate and allow others to try to carry out the task, even if they sometimes fail. Since a lot of leadership is about creating other leaders, it is important to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to grow from taking responsibility of something and owning it. Moreover, I can be a better leader by taking this example into action and holding other people responsible for tasks and motivating them to get the work done.
2. I think that the most common obstacles that leaders run into while facilitating teamwork are inattention to results and fear of conflict. As Student Body President last year, I remember running into two problems constantly that were harder to resolve than anything else. First, it was really hard motivating 55 people to work together because a lot of people had different goals which created a lot of conflicts. I think that the most essential part of creating a team is making sure that everyone is united under a vision and SMART goals that help guide that vision. We had a mission statement and went over it with the class, but looking back I'm not sure how well we communicated those goals and motivated our team to carry them out. Therefore, we did a lot of activities with only half-effort and sometimes without a purpose because of traditions or tendencies towards certain activities with no real vision behind it. This lack of purpose tricked down to just about everything that we did, and the fact that we were not united under those goals did not help either. I think that if people would have really embraced the mission of our program then their would be less conflicts because the work that we were doing would have been less about each individual trying to get work done, but more about the success of the team working toward our vision. Therefore, the goals of the team really need to be communicated and embraced if the team wants to really make a difference in whatever they are trying to do. Second, as a leader, I ran into problems with people coming to me and wanting me to resolve their conflicts for them. They would tell me that someone was doing something that bothered them, but refused to really address the problem with the person directly. Because I also fear conflict, I found that it was extremely difficult for me to mediate since all of the parties involved were my friends. For awhile, I was the middle man between a lot of people, resolving conflicts by talking to someone and trying to figure out solutions. However, I was at fault because none of these conflict resolutions ever happened when all the parties were in the same room. Since they did not resolve their own conflicts face-to-face, the problems lingered and bitter feelings still existed even though I thought that everything was okay. I think that the best way to handle these situations is to address the problem with constructive criticism and openly with respect. I think that when people respect each other and listen to each other explain why he or she did something, then they will likely be able to get over whatever was going on. Overall, I think that both of these obstacles require better communication within the group, which the leader has the responsibility to make sure happens. The leader really has to get people on the same page which is harder than it seems.
I really like this video about conflicts and I think it illustrates how people respond to frustration without communicating to the other party.
I think that it says a lot about the other workers in the office too. As the guy beats him up, none of the other co-workers try to intervene. They all probably also feel annoyed by this guy, but no one probably brings it up to the guy. I feel like this is how we as humans operate because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but inevitably this approach just causes more problems than had the workers communicated honestly and openly.
3. My personality type for the Myer-Briggs Personality Test was ESFP. I really like these personality tests because they help me figure out what my strengths and weaknesses are, and how other people's personality types can compliment or conflict with mine, so I need to be careful in how I work with them in order to be the most successful that we can be.
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