8 Chapter 1 swith new methods and procedures."* They see what results they get and then adapt their behavior accordingly: Ineffec- tive teams don’t learn from their mistakes and don't try new things; they keep making the same mistakes over and over again, Putting Principles into Practice Strategies for Becoming a Competent ‘Team Member Group communication researcher Jessica Thompson iscovered certain behaviors ean enhance or hurt your perception of competence when you work with other eam members," brane hat rane eprepon ecrgetrce + teen. Quen Enacting this simple lst of do's and don'ts won't ensure ‘that you'l be a competent team member, but research ‘suggests that these behaviors can contribute to an overall perception of competence. And i others perceive you are ‘compotant, you are more likely to behave in ways that ‘enhance competent behavior. 1.3: Communicating Collaboratively 1.3. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of ‘working with others in groups and teams ‘There is no question about it: You will find yourself working, in groups and teams, Collaborative projects are becoming, the mainstay method of accomplishing work in all organi zations. Students from kindergarten through graduate school are frequently called on to work on group projects. How do you feel about working in groups and teams? Maybe you dread attending group meetings. Perhaps you ‘agree with the observation that a committee isa group that keeps minutes but wastes hours. You may believe that ‘groups bumble and stumble along until they reach some sort of compromise—a compromise with which no one is pleased. "To be effective,” said one observer, “a committee should be made up of three people. But to get anything, done, one member should be sick and another absent.” By understanding bath the advantages and the poten tial pitfalls of working collaboratively, you will form more realistic expectations while capitalizing on the virtues of {group work and minimizing the obstacles to success First, we'll identify advantages of group collaboration and then well present potential disadvantages 13.1 YOUR GROUP HAS MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU DO On the TV game show Who Wits to Bes Millionaire? contestants who phone a friend get the right answer to the question 65 percent ofthe time. But ifthe contestant asks the audience for help, they get the right answer 91 percent of the time" There's wisdom in groups and teams. Because of the variety of backgrounds and experiences that indi- viduals bring to a group, the group a8 a whole has more information and ideas from which to seek solutions to a problem than one person would have alone. Research clearly documents that a group with diverse backgrounds, including ethnic diversity, comes up with better-quality ‘ideas! With more information available, the group is ore ly tcl aie 9 nd oe likely to arrive at a better solution.® The key, of co FRE Ea Na _ group members do share information, the group outcome ‘is better than when they don’t share what they know with ‘other group members" Although group members tend to, start out by discussing what they already know, groups stil have the advantage of having greater potential infor ‘mation to share with other group members. Advantages GROUPS STIMULATE CREATIVITY Research on groups generally supports the maxim that “two heads are better