Team Spirit!

Within the Creativity and Concept Module we discussed about working within a team a long with the ideal type of team player you would want within your team. Furthermore we also discussed the type of team player which you would not want in your team too.

Due to working within teams frequently we already have some awareness of those types of team players from our experiences. Initially we discussed why everyone within a team is important, therefore even if someone will be allocated a higher role that does not necessarily mean that those with a less higher role are not just as important. We then referred to a football team, a long with discussing who we think is involved in that team, is it just the team or are the fans a team player too?

We decided that it was not just the team who play the team players, it is also the managers, the fans, the supervisors, the medical staff, the cleaners and everyone else that they need for the team for the football to be played. Other types of teams would be in businesses, University/College projects, in a general working environment there will be times were employees need to work as a team.

We then began to write down as a team what we think is the ideal team player you would want to work with within a team.
Some who is:
- Motivated                                 - Honest
- Passionate                                - Reliable
- Good listener                           - Trustworthy
- Confident                                 - Responsible
- Open- minded                         - Out-going
- Respects others views            - Forgiving            
- Good mediator                        - Professional
- Organised                                - Can Multitask


We don't want someone who:
- Has no motivation
- Takes over
- Does not listen
- Never turns up
- Does no work
- Does not engage with ideas
- Is too critical
- No passion
- Is not organised
- Is lazy
These are usually the opposite to the ideal team player.

Once we discussed the two opposite team players, we then came up with solutions to the team player who we would not want to work with. For instance someone who is lazy, we thought perhaps they are lazy because there is a team player, who takes over a lot within the team. We decided to come to a conclusion that we would bring all the team together, however only one person within the team would speak (face to face) with the team player who is taking over. Furthermore that individual would explain that she/he is taking over slightly and this will make others feel inferior to take control. Ideally it is best if only one person speaks because if the whole team speaks it is almost targeting that one individual which can become uncomfortable and may cause controversy. Meanwhile, if the team player who is lazy is still showing no motivation within the team then we give them an individual task which they must complete themselves as perhaps they might be slightly shy to get involved or input their ideas. Furthermore if any of these solutions still do not work in the end it is best to approach the lecturer.

Personally I enjoyed this lecture as it gave everyone an insight to how we could be an effective team player, meanwhile at the beginning of the modules individuals would be slightly shy to approach one another about these situations, as they have only just met one another. However, now this gives everyone more confidence to be able to speak out about anything which is disrupting their team as a whole.