[Lux #2]
Many times at school have I seen students who decide to take extra responsibility compared to other team members. This is inevitable, when we all desire for high grades but sometimes are placed under some circumstances where team members may have different expectations of high-quality work. I personally have experienced this myself, when the team members failed to turn up at promised times, and did not participate in group discussions at all. What made the issue more pressing was that this task was to be graded as a summative task. As a result, I ended up doing the task by myself, because I still wanted a high grade.
What made this more infuriating was the fact that there was a restriction in how much I could tell the teacher about the predicament. I knew that there was pretty much nothing that the teacher could do; I couldn’t change the team members without affecting other groups. I am sure everyone was empathetic of the situation I was in, but I also had acknowledged that many of them were thankful that I was the one who had to bear the pain. Thus there was no other solution other than to work alone for the benefit of the group.
But surely there is a better way of managing such situations. If only we can get those uncooperative students to actively participate in group works, then the pain will be alleviated.
While I acknowledge that it will be impossible to change them entirely, I found ways of instilling confidence within the individuals to encourage collaboration. The rewards may be insignificant: their performance and productivity may not increase at all. However, we can still hope – perhaps this will empower the uncooperative students to make them see that their contributions and talents do matter. Otherwise, pray that you don’t have to work with the same group of people ever again.
1. Help them learn and develop. Many researchers find that confidence and competence are closely related. If the team members feel that their skills are being under-utilised, they will further doubt their abilities. This will obviously hinder their performance, so it is quite important to help them improve and learn new skills so they can play a stronger role in contributing to the project.
2. Delegate step-by-step. A great way to build up your team members’ competence is to delegate specific tasks that will help them grow in an area they are interested in. Just be careful that you don’t delegate too soon or too quickly; and don’t leave people to their own devices when they’re in new territory. In a sense, your job is to help your team members set reachable goals and to break difficult tasks into smaller steps. In that way people slowly but surely gain confidence as they start to master each step of the assignment.
3. Focus on people’s strengths. As the “team leader,” you are likely to have a fair bit of influence over who does what. You can use that authority to give them work that they’re genuinely good at and interested in. People’s motivation will generally grow when they’re given the chance to put their skills into practice and show mastery.
4. Be supportive. One of the most fundamental ways to boost people’s confidence is to actively support them. Although this may go against the “stress” you are feeling, you will may find that the team members will gradually be more supportive in group work. One of the best ways to create a strong supportive foundation is to connect with individuals one-on-one. Try to sincerely listen to their concerns and help them realise how much they have to contribute. When you get to know the members of your team at a more personal level intuitively know how to best support them. Another way to demonstrate your support is to actively praise a team member and provide positive feedback when someone does something well. We all like to feel appreciated and it takes little to say “Thanks, that was a superb job you did.”
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Hello readers,
As with my previous article Lux#1, my ultimate goal is to provide counseling on sensitive matters that you cannot freely address to your teachers, parents, and friends. Lux in Latin means “light.” I hope that I can guide students our age to ultimate control over their chaotic lives. If any of the readers have a specific issue they want addressed, please don’t hesitate from contacting me through my school email: hongeunji01137@branksome.asia.