At Work's End

The team project file is submitted and ends the team assignment, so this blog is a report of the six week project.

My impressions of working in a virtual team

The very start was very friendly and I felt welcome. Then, when it comes to working, it was a bit slow as no one really wanted to start (?). But in general, I'm happy with the team. Everyone did something, even though one person was a bit out of topic. My teammates and I helped one another, and even when it's not our job: the French students checked the grammar of my instructions and I helped them back when they were stuck in their translation.

If I am invited to work in a team again, I will definitely say yes! However, I'd prefer to work with people who are from different fields. I believe I can learn more about their specialties this way. 

The most valuable things I learnt from doing the project

One of the most valuable things is time management. Like most students, I usually begin my work the last day and am playing with the clock everytime. By working in a team, I couldn't do that because it would penalize my teammates.

But the most valuable thing I learnt is to respect my teammates. Respecting one another leads to a good cohesion of the team and the project can go well when no one feels frustrated, angry or left behind. When everyone feels they have their place in the group, working together is enjoyable.

New skills I developed during the course of the project

I improved my teamwork skill. This time, I worked with international people so had to deal with new issues such as communication and time.

I didn't really improve my technical skills as I use technology tools everyday.

A brief description of the leadership structure in my team and an evaluation of how effective the team leadership was

There was no leader in the team! Well, no official leader, but I'd say my classmate and I generally led the team, as we're always the first to get the other ones to work. My opinion is the team is small enough, and nobody really wanted to be the leader.

If I consider the Irish team as the team leadership, I'd say it was effective enough, as the instructional document for translation was ready in time for the translators, and also was finished a long time before the deadline. There was no problem with the submission, and no problem occurred in the group.

You can also read my thoughts about my team in that post: http://writingwithpeanutbutter.overblog.com/2013/11/can-you-lead-me-all-the-way.html.

Things I would do differently in future projects, if any

I would harass my lecturers/employers/bosses to have clear and precise instructions about the final document. It'd have avoided the wave of panic in the last minutes.

I would also share the tasks among the teammates from the start. This way, the work would be equally done by everyone.