We had our first group meeting for the CG1102 project last Thursday. Communication during the meeting was excellent, and we all played our roles effectively. Overall, the meeting went very smoothly but we forgot a few fundamentals.
Firstly, it was only during the meeting that we decided who our group leader and secretary would be. Moreover, we chose it without much consideration, based only on the roles we were temporarily playing at that time. Because of this, the leader did not get a chance to set and declare the agenda of the meeting. Even though we roughly knew what we would be doing, we did not exactly know how much work we would do on the spot and how much of it we would do later.
Secondly, we had not planned the meeting in advance. We had not booked the venue, had not thought of how to set up the camera and now that I think of it, we did not have any sort of back-up in mind. We did not know where to go in case the room was occupied, we did not have a spare camera, we had kept the meeting so late that we did not have the chance of a second meeting as one team member was going overseas soon.
Despite these glitches, our team performed very well. None of us felt uneasy in front of the camera. For me, the most likeable thing about our team is that everyone clarifies whatever they are confused about instead of passively accepting it. Anni noted everything down acutely and Michael steered the meeting in the right direction.
As I reviewed our video, I noticed that I presented my answer without asking others for theirs. We should have all discussed our solutions and come up with the best one. What I did instead was that I asked others to add on to my idea. This is one area I need to take care of in future meetings.
.jpg)
Dear Anuj,
ReplyDeleteI think that it’s extremely important to set an agenda for the meeting. This enables people to prepare themselves better. When they read the agenda and saw that the meeting is about something that they are not familiar with, they could then do a little reading up. This definitely way better than attending the meeting and not knowing what’s going on.
I’ve also noticed that it is very easy to forget to ask others of their opinions when we have a very clear idea of what is supposed to be done in our mind. This is particular true when some members of the group tend to be quieter. Just because is quieter does not mean that nothing is going on in his or her mind. Maybe he or she has an even better idea but is just intimidated by the fact that you are pushier with your ideas. By trying our best to hear the opinions of others, we not only get better ideas but also ensure that the other members of our team feel appreciated.
Overall, your team seems to have done pretty well for its first meeting.
Regards,
Russell
Dear Anuj,
ReplyDeleteI think I could not do better than you if I were put in the same situation.
However, I think it would be better if your team have more preparations. Everyone must know their roles in advance. An agenda with a clear schedule is required as well. I notice that your team clarified the doubts first. It is a good habit since it is hard to advance if someone still does not understand the problems.
I agree with Russell that we often forget to ask for and compare the other ideas with ours, especially they tend to be passive. By appreciating their ideas, you can build a better relationship and very often you can come up with a better solution.
Cheers,
Dam Long
Dear Anuj,
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the problems your team has encountered in your first meeting, I feel that it is actually very common for teams that need to accomplish a huge task within a limited period of time (the ‘huge’ and ‘limited’ here are relative concepts). A team is very easy to get lost if it does not have enough time to prepare itself and get ready for the task. At this moment, the ability to steer the direction and quickly respond to figure out and implement solutions is the ability that distinguishes good team from bad ones. Therefore after I finish reading your post, I have to say that your team is a very effective team because even though you were not well-prepared before the meeting, you still managed to sort everything out and find solutions.
I agree with you that it is very important for everyone in the team to clarify whatever they are confused about instead of passively accepting everything. Some people tend to conceal their ignorance by simply accepting whatever others say, because they think ignorance is something that will make them lose face. This is a very bad practice in teamwork, if everyone in a team treats ignorance in this way, the team will never be able to handle tough tasks.
I find your post a very good reflection, because you stated very clearly your strengths and weaknesses which are also thought-provoking to me though I’m an outsider.
Regards,
Shiyan
Hey all,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
Dear Russell and Dam Long,
I can relate to what happened with you. I also feel that I should have given my teammates more chance to speak up. We should give them time to articulate and present their thoughts.
ShiYan,
I notice that you can present your thoughts in a very organised manner. Kudos for that!