So it turns out my other lessons learned (you can’t control everything, plan ahead, automate and social media is a culture) proved fitting for the final assignment. They all apply to the group work we had to do for this #smrtcce class.
We had a unique group being that we were a foursome, instead of a group of three like most of our classmates. In one way it was nice to be able to divvy up the work, but it was also tricky to coordinate. We don’t live in the same city either. But that’s the point of social media, right? To be able to transcend distance…
So let me answer three “questions”, and briefly summarize what I gleaned from this experience (I’ll make it short and sweet – that’s why I said “briefly”).
1. What you learned about your personal abilities, work habits and behaviours.
I have a decent work ethic. I like to do things according to a timeline. I tend to become the leader (read: take control). I can perform a mean gap analysis and fill holes when needed.
2. What you learned about working as part of a team.
I’ve worked in teams before. I love team sports; collaborating at work. This was a unique experience though because we had to use social media tools to complete the project. And we all had different comfort levels when it came to using those tools. I have to say that everyone made a real effort and I appreciated working with our team.
I like team work, but I also dislike relying on people who aren’t me. I have to credit our team with making that adjustment a lot easier (on me) than I anticipated.
3. What you will do differently in the future to be more effective both as an individual contributor and as a team member.
I need to learn to be more flexible (like Lesson 1) as an individual contributor. Because I like to do things my way. Only my team mates can tell me if I hid my bossy tendencies as well as I think I did.
As a team member, I could have stepped up sooner to help plan ahead a little more (like Lesson 2). As I move on in my career, and as I age, I’d like to think that I am capable of really changing my behaviour – to be able to plan ahead more. But I know that’s probably not going to happen.
Yes, I like a timeline, but I trained long, and I trained hard in my undergraduate years and now I’m a procrastinator extraordinaire. No one can take that away from me 🙂
Final note
Being effective to me means being flexible and adapting to the group’s needs. If the group seems to need a leader, step up. If the group needs someone to do the technical stuff, offer up your skills.
When it comes to social media, as I learned earlier, it’s a culture. Successful social media campaigns, just like successful group dynamics, depend on the ways you participate.
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