The Importance of One Individual - Assignment Example

What exactly do group workers do and what do their groups seek to achieve The importance of one individual has always been of not much effect. These individuals require groupings or a group of people under them so that they can achieve their goal. For e.g. a captain of a football team can solely not win the match but the effort put in by the whole team would let them win the match. Similarly nowadays every field has a grouping of people which is collectively known as a team. A team consists of a group of members having a common purpose with different skills but related to the same field. The task of group workers is not to work for their own advantage but to cooperate with each other and achieve the aim of their team. To prove themselves as a successful and competent group the group workers always make their decisions by mutual understanding and considering the opinion of every member of the group. Group does not merely mean a number of people working together just to achieve one task but this grouping also provides the group individuals to live in a friendly atmosphere. The first task of the group workers is to select a group leader who is capable of controlling all circumstances which may occur during the completion of their aim. The group leader is somehow responsible for the performance of group. Leadership, being a complex task, demands for a person with the power and ability to motivate, combine the group workers and uphold honesty among the group workers. A group leader works as the 'electrifier' for the team. He proposes new techniques and methods to improve the quality of the work. He is the person who motivates them for a better result and gives them hope even in the worst and discouraging moments. I, being a part of my college football team, was equally responsible for the performance of our team, like other members and the leader. It was a really nice experience as I was never been associated in any such activity. Working in a group taught me to care about others, consider their views, and help others. The group development or team formation goes through many processes. The first step in this regard is called forming. In this step, the team's members are being selected and they are explained about the upcoming challenges and chances, and they are also explained in depth about the motives and goals of the team. Likewise, we were told about the difficulties in maintaining a friendly environment in the team as we were from different communities and we had different views on different topics. In the starting, the members of the group try their finest to give the best possible performance so that they can be noticed by the coaches. Likewise, I and other group members were trying to seek the attention of the coach by giving our best. But we had an aim to achieve the goals we had thought of as an individual. We were not only struggling for the benefit of our team but for our own benefits too. Experienced team members and the leaders began to teach us about the importance of collaboration and suitable manners even at this early stage of formation. The team leaders were very directive at this stage. The forming phase of a team is of paramount importance, as it provides the chance to the team members of knowing and understanding each other. This is besides an excellent chance to observe in what manner every member of the group moves as an individual and how they counter to pressure. After the forming phase our team entered in the phase of 'Storming'. In this stage the team addressed about the problems which really needed to be solved, our way to proceed individually and as a group and about the performance criterion of our team. All team members gave their suggestions and ideas and listened to each other. We also tackled with the conflicting views of other team members. The experienced and mature team members consider others point of view and then use their experience to resolve an issue, whereas the immature and inexperienced members make an effort to express their ideas and try to prove its importance and convince others that their ideas are better and more resourceful. Due to this fact, many groups face difficulty in crossing the storming period. This phase, despite of its importance, was repulsive, controversial and painful for us. We took time to develop the patience and tolerance in ourselves needed to keep our team from destruction. Leaders of the team throughout this stage were more accessible but still firm in their supervision of management and decision making activities. After the utmost efforts of the leaders, finally our team started to consider others. We now entered in the phase of Norming. We now agreed on the principles made by the leaders after careful consideration of individual ideas. A team's main aim is to work mutually. Our team was now able to move with each other. Our team was approaching towards an excellent achievement in the final sports match. Our leaders were pleasant and we were, now, thought of as a team. We respected each other's values and views. We felt more comfortable in working as a team rather than following our own rules. We found it more advantageous in following the guidance of our leader rather than doing what we felt was superior. We were motivated to help each other in overcoming the weaknesses and flaws. The leader's motivation increases in this phase. The leader became more conscious in order to maintain a professional relationship along with friendship among the team members. After that, came the phase of 'performing'. This was the time to show whether our leader succeed in his mission or not. In this phase, we were guided enough to make necessary decisions without supervision. We were now saved from the unfortunate conflicts and problems. The group efforts made by our team helped us to achieve our task of being successful. Bringing all the individuals in forming a group is an important part to achieve a particular goal. This team not only built up my skills for future but also helped me to understand different perspectives of life. I understood what was required to achieve a particular goal and how situations should be handled. Thus it can be concluded that team work is important to achieve one goal and in achieving this team work one has to maintain different principles. Bibliography BRANNICK, M. T., SALAS, E., & PRINCE, C. (1997). Team performance assessment and measurement theory, methods, and applications. Series in applied psychology. Mahwah, N.J., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. HUMAN TECHNOLOGY, INC. (1996). Making team decisions by consensus. Amherst, Mass, HRD Press. PICKLES, T. (1995). Toolkit for trainers: a compendium of techniques for trainers and groupworkers. Aldershot, Hampshire, Gower Pub. HODGE, J. (1985). Planning for co-leadership: a practice guide for groupworkers. Newcastle upon Tyne, Groupvine. LLEWELYN S, & FIELDING G. (1982). Group dynamics: forming, storming, norming and performing. Nursing Mirror. 155, 14-6. Read More