Michael Logan Wilhoit

11/3/2016

3 pages

What is a Team?

When forming a team, I really do believe you have to ask, “What is a team?” Is it a

group of strangers working together? A band of friends setting out to discover truth?

Enemies grouping together to fight a common nemesis? Yes. It is all of these. Not for

the boundaries that define who or what we are, but for the common goals we strive to

achieve. As well as the effort required to support such an endeavor(s). However if you

do get to decide on who is on your team, you should balance your strengths and

weaknesses across the group. So that any encounter may be properly handled.

I happened to start the class fairly late, several days after the start. When I arrived, you,

Prof. advised me to talk amongst the groups and view their projects and see if any were

interesting. One of the most important elements to a team is communication.

Communication is the nerve system of the team. Sending shocks and pulses through

team members to accomplish the “body’s” tasks.

When I stumbled upon Andrew and Charles’ group, we started to talk (forming). About

everything, who we are, what their idea is, this and that. Each person got a feel for the

other. We had a conversation, we communicated. Without this initial interaction, this

bonding between peers, I don’t believe proper teams can be created. Sure you can

work together, but if there’s no effort shown to know one another, what effort should be

shown toward the project? To create something useful to life, you must be alive.

Recently as well, a classmate had their group drop the class. We offered him a position
within our group. Luke has taken nicely, we included him to our design, our budget plan,

and ourselves. A team doesn’t just support their goal, it also supports its members.

Charles and Andrew had already thought through most of the initial planning and

design. We talked to discuss the Game plan (norming), who had what experience, who

would be able to accomplish tasks. Pert and Gannt charts were created for scheduling

and general planning. Parts list was created for budgeting purposes. Overall we did not

have a leader. Each of us was independent in his own right, working towards our project

but on specified tasks, writing this or doing that. This I believe is another important

factor in teamwork. While every person working together as whole can accomplish

much, you are not always with your team. Functioning independently from the group

can accomplish just as much if you know what you are supposed to be doing.

The most difficult part in my opinion was the formation of the project proposal

(storming). The initial planning, finalization on design, budgeting and who would buy

what, or pay back whom. A large part of the difficulty was wording the proposal correctly

to present our idea for people to understand, to get our point across. The accumulation

of these tasks can add up if not taken care of quickly. And if not taken care of, these

seemingly small things can cause catastrophic issues later in the project.