Teamwork Skills Being an effective group member

A group project is an ideal opportunity to sharpen your problem-solving and team-building techniques.

1) Communication skills:

To be successfully in a small group, you will need to be able to communicate clearly on intellectual and emotional levels. To be an effective communicator, you will need to:

• Express their own ideas
• Create feelings in an open but non-threatening way
• Listen carefully to others
• Asking questions to clarify others’ ideas and emotions
• Feel the sense how others feel based on their nonverbal communication
• Reflect on the activities and interactions of their group and encourage other group members to do so as well

2) Openness:

Group members are willing to get to know one another, particularly those with different interests and backgrounds. They are open to new ideas, diverse viewpoints, and the variety of individuals present within the group. They listen to others and elicit their ideas. They know how to balance the need for cohesion within a group with the need for individual expression.

3) Trust and self-disclosure:

Group members trust one another enough to share their own ideas and feelings. A sense of mutual trust develops only to the extent that everyone is willing to self-disclose and be honest yet respectful. Trust also grows as group members demonstrate personal accountability for the tasks they have been assigned.

4) Support:

Group members demonstrate support for one another as they accomplish their goals. They exemplify a sense of team loyalty and both cheer on the group as a whole and help members who are experiencing difficulties. They view one another not as competitors which is common within a typically individualistic educational system but as collaborators.

5) Respect:

Group members communicate their opinions in a way that respects others, focusing on “What can we learn?” rather than “Who is to blame?” See constructive feedback in the process section for more details.