Team Strength and Weakness, Essay Example

I was in 8^th grade when one Chinese student named Chan joined our class. He had moved from China to the U.S. with his family. In one of the courses, our instructor formed 4-member groups for the purpose of final course project. Each group was given the freedom to plan and complete the project as it sees fit. Our group included three American students including me as well as Chan. Brain emerged as a natural leader because he really understood the course well and had strong people skills. We would organize two weekly meetings for discussion and assigning responsibilities to team members. We soon noticed that while everyone expressed his ideas during group meetings but Chan rarely spoke. We initially thought Chan didn’t take interest or lack sense of responsibility but surprisingly, Chan always delivered his part on time and did them well which confused us. When we expressed our puzzle in the last group meeting, Chan explained that he hesitated due to weak English and moreover, in China you only speak when you are certain you have something useful to say.

Strengths: One of the major strengths of our group was that we all understood our interdependency upon each other and all group members delivered their part on time which helped the group achieve its deadlines. Another strength was Brian’s leadership as he made sure everyone understood his part and there was no confusion in the group regarding individual member’s responsibilities.

Weaknesses: The main weakness of the group was that it failed to take into account the cultural diversity within the group. Another weakness was our failure to immediately act upon the problem as soon as we discovered it and instead forming assumptions without any investigation. We noted early that Chan didn’t participate in group discussions yet we didn’t do anything to tackle the issue. Our group also failed in communication because had we communicated our concerns earlier, we could have helped Chan become a more productive member of the group.