Hi Natalya, thanks for the questions founded on a "TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION" platform.
The context for my response is a firm of architects & engineers who compete in a marketplace against other E/A firms for projects/programs.
So, once a contract for their services is secured, a varied group of professionals are assigned to collaborate, communicate, and cooperate with each other such that the individual and collective work of this group meets the project's quality requirements, first time, every time!
Q1.What's your experience with working in a team?
First, it is premature to call a group assigned to work together a "Team" in the absence of
their project work experiences together, i.e., Where's the evidence of teamwork?
Q2. Does it come naturally?
For some, 'yes.' For most other engineers, 'no.' Search "MBTI for Engineers."
Q3. Do you enjoy it?
See Q2. above.
Q4. What are the challenges?
Learning to stop asserting yourself. . .or staying silent… and proactively seeking opinions from others.
Q5.Are there any tips for making it work?
Informed practice, feedback, and more practice.
Stay Healthy!
Cheers,
Bill
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William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
Buffalo, N.Y.
"It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-26-2021 11:44 AM
From: Natalya Sokolovskaya
Subject: Teamwork and collaboration
Thanks James,
I wasn't aware of these methods (except in 'Silicone valley' series) and it was fun to look them up.
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Natalya Sokolovskaya P.E., M.ASCE
Wynnewood PA
Original Message:
Sent: 03-26-2021 05:25 AM
From: James Wood
Subject: Teamwork and collaboration
I think a Scrum or Kanban approach works fine. It can accommodate solitary individuals as long as there is regular communication (stand ups) with the rest of the team to make sure the project is going in the right direction.
Regards
Derm
Original Message:
Sent: 3/25/2021 7:50:00 PM
From: Natalya Sokolovskaya
Subject: Teamwork and collaboration
When I was growing up, team work was not part of school curriculum. This, combined with my personality, made all kinds of team work and group projects not come naturally to me later in life. My instincts are to crawl into a hole, 'figure it out' myself, and then, maybe, share the findings. Other times, the way I work in groups is more like the concept of parallel play, which is how young children play next to each other before they learn to play with each other. It is easier when someone (it could even be me) manages the project or if it can be broken into individual tasks, or if the work is 'straight-forward' such as conducting a field sampling event together. I am happy to see that for my son, who is in elementary school, working on a project in small groups is the most natural thing and his favorite mode.
What's your experience with working in a team? Does it come naturally? Do you enjoy it? What are the challenges? Are there any tips for making it work?
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Natalya Sokolovskaya P.E., M.ASCE
Wynnewood PA
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