Teamwork according to Google
But what they found was not what they expected. It wasn't the mix of PhDs that made a good team, but how they worked together. Is it just me but doesn't that seem obvious?
So what are Google's five keys to a successful group:
1. Psychological Safety. Are you free to safely take risks in your group or will you be ostracized or punished. Hopefully, your teammates are supportive and don't see risk takers as ignorant or disruptive.
2. Dependability. Anybody who has done a school project knows exactly what this means.
3. Structure and clarity. Does the group get the assignment (task), have a plan to accomplish the assignment, and will it be successful? If you can answer "yes" to these questions, you are on your way to success.
4. Meaning. This can really only be defined by an individual, but it basically boils down to "Do you like what you are doing?" In the case of Google (or any other employer), this can be a lifetime of drudgery or delight. In the case of student groups, it can amount to how valuable the project may be to your landing a job. Did it help you make a decision (do you really want to do this for the rest of your life?).
5. Impact. For Google employees what "impact" amounts to is does your work make a difference? For student groups you might think it applies to the grade you received, especially in those groups where you get to grade each other. There is ALWAYS that one person that didn't do anything (or very little).
Do you like working in groups? You will be working in groups when you get into the working world, how do you think you will handle that? What do you think makes a successful team?
I do not mind working in groups in particular. There are advantages to working alone and in groups, I can adapt to any situation when I am working. When I work in groups, I would take up the leading role if there is no one willing to do so. By leading, I mean by organizing the project we are working on in general, not overseeing how everyone does their work. I give people space to do their own assignments and oversee the project as a whole. In certain situations when other people take charge, I would be willing to listen to instructions and advice and focus on my own tasks. I think what makes a successful team is when everyone knows their role in the team and act as a team to help each other out. For example, as I was saying, sometimes I take up the leading role and sometimes I do not. Everyone needs to be clear with what their roles are and play along. Moreover, we are working as a group, so we should help each other out while we can. Instead of just doing their own assignments and ignore others.
ReplyDeleteThis probably belongs under a sub-category of "Dependability" and "Structure and Clarity", but a good sense of direction (for the individual and for the team) and division of work is vital. That is, teammates should be fully aware of their task, and how it relates to the others' work to form a whole. Too often group projects end up with few people doing most of the work, not necessarily because of laziness, but because the others do not give the rest a good, concrete task. And so they will take it up themselves because they worry about the work being done correctly and up to their standard. I'm guilty of this myself; taking charge and not first deciding what everyone will be doing. This is why having "Structure and Clarity" is so important to complete the task. After all, what use is a group if only a portion allow themselves to work?
ReplyDeleteI like group projects where the others also have a sense of confidence and taking charge because it means we can easily trust each other to divide up the work well. In my experience, it surprisingly does not lead to conflict. But I ought to be able to work with anyone.
For me, personally I like to work in a collective team and collaborate on ideas and topics to get a different perspective on how people and thinking based on the issue at hand. I agree with those five main characteristics of psychological safety, dependability, structure, clarity, meaning and impact and when I work in groups in the real world I think its important to apply these characteristics towards yourself, but also instill core values towards your team that make you who you are so people can see the redeeming qualities that got you to success in your life. A successful team is an organized, well communicated group of individuals who don't strive to be anyone else but themselves and collaborate with one another effectively and with positive attitudes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I usually prefer to work individually, I can see why working as a team can be more helpful. I think working in groups is a better idea because you get to explore each others ideas and come to a conclusion together. When I get into the working world, I think I'll be able to work in groups without a problem. As a huge NBA fan, I can say that the best teams win with teamwork. Just like playing basketball, it's important for team members to assist each other. The successful teams are the teams that work together and come to a conclusion whether or not disagreements take place.
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking, I enjoy working in groups. For the most part, groups can make a project or a large task more simple to do, if the group's are properly organized, especially with the Google's five keys. Along with that groups have the potential to create future friendships with people that you never thought you'd end up being friends with. As someone who's had a fair amount of group projects in the past, I can say that has happened to me a couple times.
ReplyDeleteSince I now know that I will be working in groups (and have) in English 126, I think have and will continue to handle that pretty well. I believe that what makes a successful team is one where one where every member is fully engaged and dedicated to completing the work that they need to complete. In addition to this, I believe that a successful team also has a leader that divides tasks for the team accordingly and in an organized fashion.
In my opinion, the five keys that are mentioned in the article are keys to make people succeed at anything. If you do things by following these five keys, anything you do would be enjoyable and easy. Getting back to the article, if a group wants to be successful, EVERYONE in the group is required those five keys. For me, in some types of works I like to work in group, but sometimes I would prefer to work on my own, too. But since I want to be a trader in the future, I am probably going to be working in groups for most of the time. I think everything that's related to business is finished and worked by groups of people. I think I can be pretty helpful in a group because I like to get things done as fast as I can. My family owns two companies, maybe working with my father and my brother in the future will be a great experience and a good path!
ReplyDeleteTeamwork is generally a very subjective topic for me because most of the time, there will always be that teammate who isn’t doing their job right or a leader who’s too bossy for his own good. Yet, I find myself that since teamwork can incorporate these negative qualities, it’s more synonymous to life’s challenges in which you do not have time to care about minute flaws in one another. In the work environment, you’re going to be grouped with complete strangers, not your best friends. These strangers could be the greatest annoyances you will ever face, but in the face of the goal you all are achieving, you would have to set aside those differences for the greater good. How the group does in the end would then result in what kind of lessons and bonds you all share. If you succeed, did you feel a sense of accomplishment and felt grateful that your peers have done their job right? If you failed, what lessons have you learned to prevent such a thing to happen again? Did you do your part correctly or did you do anything else to help guide your teammates? A lot of these questions build people’s character, and teamwork is a great medium to do just that. You don’t just get into a group and come out with no insight to gain.
ReplyDeletePersonally, working in groups have always been great and life-learning for me. Yes, I was the guy who didn’t do his work most of the time. Yes, I did talk and boss too much without contributing my fair share of the work. However, from those experiences and critiques from my teammates, I learnt the necessary aspects that I need in order for a group to function, which Google has stated in their five tips of teamwork. I learnt to be accepting to the point where my teammate aren’t afraid to take risks around me. I learnt that I can’t be a burden anymore. I learnt that communication is most important weapon in teams. I learnt that every member must be devoted in their work, and finally I needed to understand the end goal of the project.
In college, most of people are stressed out when they have a “group project”. Group project sounds like fun and having less responsibility because of the expectation that other people will cover my laziness. Therefore, many of us use group project as a chance for being irresponsible and getting a free good grade and that is why I did not like group project as well. However, getting interested how companies works for more productive outcome, I realized most of good companies work as teams which are assigned different projects. Work as a team is a strong method to reach for a common goal only if all participants are fully devoting under the right system. I think those five factors listed above can be a good guideline for successful group work. A successful team should be organized well and everyone in the group is aiming the same. Work should be distributed fairly and Strong bonding and trust between members is also a key.
ReplyDeleteThis article reminds my past job experience at LG logistics team. As the article stated, I think Psychological Safety is very important. When I just entered the office and was learning new tasks, I sometimes made some mistakes. At first, of course I was frustrated and didn't know what to do. However, my boss and team members didn't blame me but taught me how to solve it. I became very comfortable gradually and didn't make mistakes anymore. I realized that psychologically relaxed person can do much better and more tasks in the same time and period.
ReplyDeleteI went to the international high-school in Korea, so my school curriculum was focused on cooperation. Because everyone spoke all different languages and had different English level, all the time we needed to work together. I feel like I leaned how to be a person how and what should I do to finish the task successfully. Still I need to learn more and I'd love to learn at Google!
I totally understand that sometimes there are some irresponsible people who do not participate and make others stressful. However, I who have already experienced a good case of group work can say that group working is worth to finish one task but also to develop myself.
Group projects have the ability to connect students and break apart the information which can allow every student to understand the martial better. If the balance of this group is correct it can be very beneficial for the students and can help them improve their assignments. If students distribute the work evenly this can lead to a great way to teach subjects. The information posted is accurate with the points of how a group can be successful while still learning about the subject.
ReplyDeleteThese five key are the elements that you would need anywhere for example, a job, college, high school or anywhere you would work. Working as a team is helpful for you and other people. This helps you to divide the work and information and think of a topic from every side you can. In a teamwork you can find your weaknesses and strength that would help you become better each time. In my personal experience of teamwork I feel it was great because I had help if I was stuck and we didn't assign the work and just leave but worked together in a place and get the ideas together to get the project to be a success. Every class that I have taken in my college in my sophomore year has required me to do teamwork and it has made me even more confident in doing so. For example, in math you have to compare answers and help your team if they need help, English where you have to discuss essays, peer review, work on activities. In every work field teamwork is required because most companies would tell you to work as a team because the company wants their profit and if you would not then maybe they will tell you to leave the job or you would have to find a job where there is no teamwork but that is much less thing that can be found in current jobs.
ReplyDeletePersonally I’ve found group work to either be successful or disappointing. More times than not in life and in school, working with others is just another key essential to our daily lives. Looking back on my many group projects I’ve realized that these 5 tips Google found are really the bases for an effective group work. I remember when it came to group work in high school, the minute my teacher said we could pick our groups my friends and I would make eye contact with each other signaling that we would be a group. As fun as it is being able to work with your friends I’ve found it’s not always that easy. There’s always going be that one friend or team member that is either going slack off and not be reliable or just not even do their fair share making someone else do double the work. It’s inevitable to get out of group work because the interaction with others is just the way of life, but to be successful is making sure everyone is on the same page. As a team everyone needs to be willing to work for their grade or goal instead of letting others do the work for them.
ReplyDeleteAnavenessa Aguirre
ReplyDelete17 April 2017
ENGL 1002
All of these tips were very successful, because to our knowledge we already know all off these tips, however, how come they rarely workout for us. As you can see Google is known for working in a team setting. I believe most of their team work comes from “Psychological Safety”, which they explained that in group settings it is all about taking risk. Most team mate members always want to be on the same page or also never take any risk. Also, we can tend to have mix feelings in the group if any of the risk do not work out, which is why everyone avoids it. However, to re-cap Google addresses that in order to have an excellent team you will all need to have some risk takers. I see this as being a helpful tip, because sometimes in group projects teachers like to see that students went to an extend for certain things. For example, in one of my classes we had to only survey 10 people, however, we went to the extreme and did 36, because we felt like we would have a more of an accurate percentage and knowledge to what we were asking for. Lastly, tip number 4 was very helpful, “Meaning”, which is being described as do you like what you are doing. This tip is very important, because if you don’t then there won’t be any effort into completing the task to your best availability. Such as, in my job we are given specific task and I enjoyed doing each and every one of them reason to it being is, because I enjoy planning events. Keep in mind I work with a team of 4. I suggest everyone to take a look at this blog, because it does have helpful tips for any group work that may come along in the future.
Throughout my years of schooling so far I've had a terrible experience with group work so far. I'm not quite sure what's the reason for this. I think the difficulty that I've had with group work is either i'm really shy so I will stay to myself in the group or I can be really dominating and want to take control of the entire project for which some people can be overbearing. Reading this article I've realized that the older I've got I've gained some of the skills listed such as dependability and psychological safety which have reflected throughout me since I've started college. I personally don't really like groups because everyone has their own unique ways and things to do but I am perfecting my group working skills so that when I get into my career I will know how to work with all different types of people regardless to any circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI believe that team work is very important for many fields, school, jobs and in our daily life. Also, we all have to be interact with someone somehow, so, we all cannot get away from it. The company or whoever have effective team work always successful in their doing, and those who successes in team work follow the five elements that describe above. Personally I am not a group worker because I can concentrate better when I am alone and have a better outcome. I do not need to depend on my teammate, I can express whatever I think is right without hurting or someone. However, I learned how team work is important when I was in high school. It is very difficult to follow these five keys because we people have different opinion and perspective; therefore, it is almost impossible to agree on one thing. But sometime those differences are very helpful.
ReplyDeleteEvery group project I have been assigned my groups always struggle to put in their full effort to making it the best, that is the main reason why I do not like doing group projects.These five key point are good to go by when working in a group project many should have these goals and rules and apply them to their projects; doing this will create a successful project. Like the article states there is always one person who does the majority of the work while the others swear to the teacher they helped but in reality they barley did anything.When I get into the working world I will be working in groups with my fellow coworkers on a daily bases to be saving peoples lives and I fell I will work well with others because I am the one who is the most motivated when doing projects and I know if it comes to treating someone others will be too. A successful team to me is a team that communicates well and hardworking.
ReplyDeleteI have a love hate relationship with working in groups. I've worked in groups where everyone has done their fair share of the work and we all succeeded. But I've also worked in groups where all the work gets dumped onto a few of the people in the group. In the groups that actually worked out I found that everyone had a common understanding and respect for everyone else in the group and everyone could add in their own ideas to the project without being attacked for the slightest thing. As for the groups that fell apart, it was usually a few people that just didn't care at all about the task/class/project/etc. And them not caring could influence others to not care and that's when it would fall apart. In my current workplace I'm a manager, and all the other managers that I work with have a very strong familial bond together. No one really hates anyone else, the worst feeling someone has towards another is more of a neutral content-ness that isn't beneficial but doesn't hurt either. But for the most part everyone is part of that family, we work together, we suffer in the blistering summer heat together, and we most definitely party together. That familial bond is what allows our team to succeed and grow.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy working in groups. I believe a successful group can you communicate and find a rule for every member. I also believe it's the groups job to hold everyone accountable and make them feel like they are needed. If they miss a deadline they should feel bad or like they let everyone else down.depending on my mood and the other personalities in the group I can either take lead and try to put everything together or say back and moderate so everyone else can be heard. My main goal is to have a successful project with everyone involved being happy with what they contributed . I try to get the best of everyone and put them in situations where they can thrive and they aren't unhappy or upset. Good groups are all on the same page when it comes to what they are trying to accomplish. But each individual is on a different path to that destination and that's why it is important to hear everyone out and take the best parts of everyone's ideas.
ReplyDeleteTeamwork is something I use in my daily life. Whether it's study groups, helping a loved one move, or working with your coworkers at your job, teamwork is inevitable. However, proper skills are needed to have a effective group outcome. I believe that proper facilitation is the key to success needed to help manage the group and make the process easier. Good facilitators are knowledgeable and unbiased. They understand the groups objectives, helping organize a plan to reach the common goal of the group. They also clear the airways for inclusion, so that everyone involved feels heard. Besides this, open minded passionate individuals are needed who are willing to participate. I know for me great facilitators made it easy for me to adapt to need work environments.
ReplyDeleteIn my case of personality, I am a passive worker, who loves to 'get a work from the one who above.' I'm not good at lead my own work, but good at completing a work what I'm assigned. Therefore, I prefer group work much more. Everyone claims that great leaders make a great team. Then, who is a great leader? The leader who effectively assigns his/her mates appropriate works is a great leader. At the same time, all the mates should know each others' part precisely to understand how the whole work goes on.
ReplyDelete(Sangwoo Kim)
DeleteBeing in a team does not simply mean distributing works, but it also means sharing goals with teammates and learning from each other. Some of the factors that make a successful team are leadership, contribution and responsibility.
ReplyDeleteA good team has a great leader. However, it does not mean that everyone should play a leading role. If one decides not to be a leader of a team, he or she can support the leader of the team to successfully demonstrate leadership; therefore, the team will enjoy a firm leadership. In addition, each member of a team should be able to show their contribution in their team. Contributing to a team is simple. Anything one does for the team can be a significant contribution. For example, one can clean his or her meeting room before a group meeting, one can bring some food or coffee for teammates, and so on. Although, leadership and contribution are important components of a successful team, responsibility is essential. Any team that has an irresponsible member cannot endure any longer. If a member of a team is not responsible enough to complete his or her task, his or her teammates will be given a heavier responsibility to perform the undone task; consequently, they will not be able to fully concentrate on their original work. From there, in the future, I as a responsible teammate in college or in my future work place, will be an embracive leader or a supporter of my leader, will seek what I can do for my team and will do my best to go beyond what I am expected to do.
I personally like working on things by myself, but I do not mind working in groups every now and then. I have had my fair share of bad experiences when working in groups. Some members just do not put in the same amount of effort or any effort at all, which is SUPER annoying. The other members would have more work to do while he/she sits back and relaxes. In the future I know I will have to work in groups, possibly with difficult individuals, but I will adapt and get the task done, with or without them. A successful team requires leadership, effort, and communication.COMMUNICATION IS KEY.
ReplyDeleteGroup projects can either be an advantage or a disadvantage to a student. Group work is all about communication and students fail to see that. But students shouldn't be blamed for everything because teachers are also partially at fault for assigning a group project assuming that students already know one another when they do not, ESPECIALLY in college. College does not have time to do ice breakers unlike high school. I do not mind working in groups but I would want to be able to choose who I desire to work with because in every group project there will always be one or two students that refuses to cooperate and participate in the project. I was recently assigned a group project in my General Studies class and I found that too sudden because I didn't know a single student in my class. Therefore, it was hard for us to communicate with one another and I was not able to observe who would be liable in this project since I did not know them. When we did our project, only two other girls contributed to help. Keep in mind that there were 6 of us. When it was time to present our PPT, Only 3 out of 6 came (Me and two other girls). Therefore, we had to present again and the thing is that we didn't even complete the whole project. The whole time I was trying to communicate with my group and they were not replying. WASTED MY TIME. I have experienced this so many times to the point I already know how to do it. So I would do whole new project on my own with my own ideas and research without their help. That is where the disadvantage comes along because I pretty much did all the work by myself since my group isn't reliable. I find it unfair how others just sit back and get a good grade on something they didn't help with and only one or two students do all the work. I hope teachers were able to see this that assigning group projects in college is difficult. In the future, I think I will be able to handle working with a group but I hope that they also help and communicate. A successful team means communicating with one another and helping each other out if you have no clue on what you are doing. Also to keep in mind that your groups grade is at stake if you decide to not do your part. Communicating with one another will for sure get the work done faster.
ReplyDeletehonestly, group activities are either a hit or miss. Either everyone contributes an does what they're supposed to or only one person does the work while the rest just pot their names on them. Personally, i don't mind group projects as long as I know i have someone else thats reliable and that will help me finish the project if the other people don't help. For example, I had a really big presentation for my spanish class in high school and I was in a group with guys that were all friends. Ever since i got put in that group, I knew i was going to have to do all the work. Although i took the leadership role and gave everyone assigned roles, I ended up doing all of them because they kept goofing off. The best type of group to work in is one with a good balance with the type of people. Like it was stated above, you just have to find the right balance in the people you're going to work with.
ReplyDeleteI think that these are obvious points that were found from the research done, but they're points that people don't often think about when there is a group project everyone just groans and complains, and not often do they think about what key components will make it a successful project, and outcome. These are good points for teachers to emphasize to elementary kids so they go throughout school with a good foundation on what makes team work successful.
ReplyDeleteI like working in the group because everyone in the group could give thoughts and opinions on the thing that we want to do. However, sometimes a group work could not be done effectively because of someone did not commit on the task that they are responsible for. So, for me working in the group project, I will ask the whole team to brainstorm, delegate task, make a phase and check date in the google docs. Thus, everyone can check and re-check to the teammates about the progress. From that experience, I feel that the outcomes are very impressive for the group work. Structure and clarity, and impact are the keys that I want to implement in the group work. With the implementation of the word "impact", I think that everyone will have sense of responsibility and belonging.
ReplyDelete