I am a firm believer that we are defined through our relationships. Who we interact with and how we interact with people defines who we are as a person. The ability to effectively collaborate with others is one of the most important skills to have in this global business world. Through this course I have been able to tap into how I collaborate with others.
I have been described as a “people pleaser” as well as an outgoing person. These attributes make it easy for me to reach out to others and work with them to ensure that we are pleased with our work. With this group specifically, I found it easy to work with the other members. Each member had a willingness to develop and succeed individually as well as a group. My collaboration skills is shown best with my interaction with one of the group members, Yang Wang. During the first half of the term she was shy and afraid to speak up during group meetings. When it came time for our first presentation I thought it would be a good idea for both her and I to present so I could help her step out of her comfort zone. To do this effectively we met separately from the group the day before our presentation. We went over our presentation slides and after I asked how she felt about speaking tomorrow. She told me that she was extremely nervous. I took the opportunity to work with her on public speaking. For the practice, I told her to not read the slides to me, but to SHOUT the words at me. I believed this to help her speak loudly and more confidently, which she did in front of the class.
I have a keen sense of social-awareness which helps me to build strong relationships. However, according to some feedback from one group member I need to be mindful of ideas from other group members. The feedback stated:
“I would suggest that he keeps practicing listening and consider the ideas of others. Even with his improvements it still seemed that he would become one track minded.”
I took this too personally the first time I read this type of feedback midway through the term. In my previous. blog post “Leading or Controlling”, I was frustrated because I thought the group did not appreciate my efforts and decisiveness to keep the group moving forward. Now I understand that it was not personal or unappreciative at all. My group member was just trying to tell me that I can’t come up with all the ideas because it is harmful to the group. Other members will stop collaborating because they will be afraid their thoughts are unimportant. If one person takes all of the actions then others feel left out and like they are in the back seat of the project. Effective collaboration fits with the five practice of leadership, and mainly enabling others to act. I will continue to work on my collaboration with others to ensure that we are all the drivers of the project. My development will progress by listening to others and waiting to speak until others have shared their ideas. This will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to share their ideas, which is imperative to move forward. I have also grown in my progress to accept feedback. It’s not meant to be negative, it’s supposed to be helpful for my growth as an individual, and understanding that will help me grow in these areas of improvement.
