Dear Team

My course director asked me how my collaborative project was going. I immediately answered I was lucky and didn't have much to complain. I deduce I am lucky when I compare my team and the other teams in the class.

Except the lack of leadership that I described in my previous post, no other negative points come to my mind, while I hear my classmates complain every week about their teammates. Their complains are not unusual when it comes to team work and my course director also confessed there was always a problem in all her team projects. Those are the usual complains:

• The teammates do nothing.
• The teammates do not reply.
• The teammates work in the wrong way.
• The teammates criticize my classmates' work... after this has been posted for weeks.

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For my part, my biggest frustration is when I don't get any answer. I mean when I keep posting updates of our work, but nobody replies. When there's no reply, I don't know if I should keep going because of "no news, good news (?)", or if my teammates are looking at my work and will answer soon, or if they haven't even seen my post.

It's frustrating! I feel frustrated when the discussions stay empty and I have the impression of talking to a wall. I also feel alone while my teammates are supposed to support me.

I realized that the team projects, that is to say the final projects which have to be submitted, are never difficult. Even though the students are graded on their work, the goal of a collaborative project is to make you work with others and be professional.

Indeed, while you usually submit individual assignments, when you enter in the professional world, you are not alone and have to deal with others. That's why the team assignment which has to be submitted is easy... because working with others is not easy.

I see collaborative projects in school as times to practise our teamwork skill. The real "winners" at the end are the students who understand how to behave and work in a group, because they will get that undoubtedly useful skill that they can apply in the professional world: that teamwork skill.

For now, we're just half way of the project. And since yesterday, not only did my American teammates reply but they also posted their part of work. It was such a relief to see you're not alone in a team! Our team can work after all... anyway, we're just half way of the work, everything can still change but I am hopeful and confident.