Total Teamwork: 1, 2, 3!
Teamwork comes in many forms, from group assignments and project management at work…to family reunion planning and social committees in your personal life. However, they all have something in common: the three roles that people play in the group.
Which role do you usually play?
#1 TASK – The people in this role focus on making sure the group reaches its goal.
Examples of task behavior:
-Initiating group discussion
-Keeping group on track/meeting deadlines
-Sharing information
-Asking questions/seeking input
-Summarizing progress
#2 PEOPLE/RELATIONSHIP – The people in this role focus on the process of the group and make sure that everyone is working together!
Examples of people/process behavior:
-Making sure everyone is heard
-Clarifying comments/mediating conflict
-Praising/encouraging others
-Making sure everyone is “buying in”
-Celebrating successes
-Clarifying comments/mediating conflict
-Praising/encouraging others
-Making sure everyone is “buying in”
-Celebrating successes
#3 ANTI-GROUP – People in this negative role are not focused on the group’s task or the group’s process. They are focused on themselves and their own agenda. We may need to check ourselves to make sure we aren’t playing this role. We sometimes go there when we aren’t happy about the direction the group is taking, or worse, when we didn’t really want to be part of the group in the first place.
Examples of anti-group behavior:
-Naysaying & sarcasm
-Dominating discussion/personal agenda
-Tangenting from the task
-Present but not engaged
-Multi-tasking to the point of distraction
-Dominating discussion/personal agenda
-Tangenting from the task
-Present but not engaged
-Multi-tasking to the point of distraction
