Life Lessons: Learning to work in groups

Our generation has been working in groups since kindergarten.

But now I’m a senior in college, and I’m still surrounded by people who don’t know how to work together. At first thought, I was surprised that my peers were incapable of filling a role in a group. With all this group work as kids you would think we would be better at it now. But the truth is, working with others is never easy Here are a few ways to successfully work in a group and still achieve your personal goals.

You don’t need to be the leader to stand out

The Fisher College of Business is a competitive school, and many of the students are very extroverted. We’re constantly attempting to get on the fast track to a good job in a great company. We are trained to stand out if we want to make an impact on recruiters. Because of this, everyone wants to be the leader in the group. However, I have learned that you don’t need to be the leader to stand out. Instead you should embrace your skills, and use them to benefit the group however possible. For example, my good friend Jeremy enjoys, and is good at market research. Because of this, he tends to take on the research role. This benefits the group, and allows him to talk about something he is confident in during the presentations.

Learn to open up

No idea is a bad idea, and everything should be brought up and discussed. The key is to get your group mates to share their ideas no matter how shy, reserved, or embarrassed they may be. Then make sure that you provide constructive criticism, but stay as positive as possible. You will see that the more people are involved in the discussion the more ideas you will come up with.

Don’t hold all meetings online

The internet is a great tool, but it is not the only way to communicate. My groups always use Google Docs and Spreadsheets, and because of our busy schedules this definitely makes communication easier. However, there are some meetings that you just can’t have online. For instance, any meeting that incorporates a good amount of brainstorming rather than just information sharing should be done in person. Having a brainstorming meeting in person will allow for better communication, and more discussion. Also, it will limit the distractions that surround you when you’re online.

These are just a few of the ways you can improve your group dynamics, while still benefiting your best interests. Groups are a part of life that no Millennial will be able to avoid. We should be able to embrace them. From my experience, more often than not, working as a team is much more beneficial than constantly competing. But by all means, don’t forget to embrace the competition when necessary.