On the job Teamwork/groupwork

[Giggly]

Group work = having to work in a team of more than 2 people on a project where you have to coordinate and communicate effectively with each other in order to meet a deadline.

I know that I'll be doing teamwork for many years to come and I don't mind doing it IF the other people carry their load. I only dislike teamwork when I have to carry most of the load and do other people's job. Then it's just really tiring and the empty promise people are frustrating. This has been my experience in school.

Please tell me that groupwork or teamwork gets easier and better on the job than it does while in school. Tell me that people who don't carry their load are weeded out at the job level.

 

[ceecee]

Assuming that you have to work in a team of more than 2 people on 1 project where you have to coordinate and communicate effectively with each other in order to meet a deadline.

I know that I'll be doing teamwork for many years to come and I don't mind doing it IF others do their job. I only dislike it when I'm carrying most of the load and doing other people's job.

Please tell me that groupwork or teamwork gets easier and better on the job than it does while in school?

On the job, it's the same sort of crapshoot as school. I hated group work in college and I have worked on group projects on the job that suck in the same way but sometimes not. The same rules apply - one person in charge of coordinating and that one person having the ability to not be a dictator and take all opinions/views/ideas into account as well as being a cheerleader and motivator. It's the job ENFJ's were born to do

 

[FDG]

Well, it's always like that, yes. But you don't need to carry more load than your fair share, if you're willing to accept that the deadline will not be met and everyone will be worse off. It's the only way to solve the tragedy of the commons with an equally shared payoff. I've done it sometimes, it's not that bad.

 

[Giggly]

On the job, it's the same sort of crapshoot as school. I hated group work in college and I have worked on group projects on the job that suck in the same way but sometimes not. The same rules apply - one person in charge of coordinating and that one person having the ability to not be a dictator and take all opinions/views/ideas into account as well as being a cheerleader and motivator. It's the job ENFJ's were born to do

This is why I hope I never become a manager anywhere. I hate bossing adults around and trying to motivate them to do things. People are difficult and that is the opposite of my idea of fun.

Well, it's always like that, yes. But you don't need to carry more load than your fair share, if you're willing to accept that the deadline will not be met and everyone will be worse off. It's the only way to solve the tragedy of the commons with an equally shared payoff. I've done it sometimes, it's not that bad.

The bolded makes me cringe. :S I want to do good.

 

[ceecee]

This is why I hope I never become a manager anywhere. I hate bossing adults around and trying to motivate them to do things. I try my best to avoid it, unless it's something I really need.

My husband isn't a manager but a senior adviser/mentor to newer people in his field at his company. He's so good at it, it's sickening. But I think it exhausts him more quickly now than it use to so I don't know that it's anything any person can do indefinitely. Don't feel bad, I'd make a terrible manager too.

 

[FDG]

The bolded makes me cringe. :S I want to do good.

Ah, okay. Then either you choose your group carefully or yeah, it's inevitable, you have to do more than someone else who's slacking.

 

[Giggly]

My husband isn't a manager but a senior adviser/mentor to newer people in his field at his company. He's so good at it, it's sickening. But I think it exhausts him more quickly now than it use to so I don't know that it's anything any person can do indefinitely. Don't feel bad, I'd make a terrible manager too.

Hmm.. adviser/mentor sounds way better. What is the difference between manager and adviser/mentor?

 

[ceecee]

Hmm.. adviser/mentor sounds way better. What is the difference between manager and adviser/mentor?

He isn't in a supervisory position at all. He's a senior property risk specialist and his specialty is fire and commercial facilities. He is kind of a go to person for questions posed by other property people and he reviews reports that get sent back to managers for their employees. He would be very unhappy tied to a desk and office every day and that would be the case as a manager. He loves being in the field and handling the technical aspect of things. Plus he is an ENFJ - superb people skills. The clients love him, so much they insist on dealing with him only, even if it is out of his regional territory. Which is why he is in Phoenix all week.

 

[tinker683]

I'm actually in a managerial position, Giggly, and it's not as tough as you might think. Granted, I can be a bit of a tyrant sometimes, but I've founded that so long as I can talk to people like they're intelligent equals and show them how I want it done, people usually (but not always) do what I need to do.

On a side note, I really dislike the term "motivating people." If I'm paying someone to do something and they're not self-motivated enough to do what I contract them to do, then I have no issue with kicking their asses to the curb.

 

[giegs]

I work as a manager/adviser/mentor/trainer among other things. I really don't mind teamwork from the perspective I have. My work generally requires multiple people to successfully accomplish a task and my job is to put together groups and then work with them individually to make sure they have the required knowledge/skills/abilities. There's actually a bit of fun to be had when you recognize the various skills of your team members and arrange them for the best possible outcome. Just because someone is basically worthless as a worker doesn't mean they can't contribute to the right kind of team...

When I'm down in the trenches, I'm an absolute tyrant. I'll always ask for opinions and advice, but when it comes down to it I'll order the hell out of folks to get things done.

 

[Lark]

What I hate about this is that you never get a group of people in which people really feel they are equals, you'll always get the one team killer who believes they are superior to everyone else and really ought to be giving the orders to everyone else or assumes that no one else knows or has thought about whatever has just come into their head, when its even perhaps been discussed, possibly more than once.

 

[Giggly]

On a side note, I really dislike the term "motivating people." If I'm paying someone to do something and they're not self-motivated enough to do what I contract them to do, then I have no issue with kicking their asses to the curb.

Have you ever fired anyone? What do you say to them?
I don't think I ever want to be given that task.

When I get angry or annoyed, I can bark out orders with the best of them, but that only comes when I'm angry. 'To have to do that everyday or hover over people would be weird for me because I see other adults as my equals/peers, unless they are clearly in authority over me.

Gah! I have to get off here and do my group work!

 

[tinker683]

Have you ever fired anyone? What do you say to them?

I have, and it depends on the situation. I've never been nasty about it, its usually something along the lines of, "I'd just like to get a second pair of eyes to do this" or "the owner has found someone else to do" or "This isn't working out".

I don't think I ever want to be given that task.

I've found in situations like this is depends on perspective. If I look at it as a duty that needs to be done for a good reason, then I don't have a lot of difficulty with it.

When I get angry or annoyed, I can bark out orders with the best of them, but that only comes when I'm angry. 'To have to do that everyday or hover over people would be weird for me because I see other adults as my equals/peers, unless they are clearly in authority over me.

Once again, perspective. I'm very much like you in that respect but I've found that most people are busy and don't mind having someone follow up with them about doing stuff. Most of the people I work with put a lot of pride into their work and I've even been thanked a couple of times for following up with them.

And yeah, when I get angry, I become an iron fisted tyrant. I'm not fun or pleasant to be around.

Gah! I have to get off here and do my group work!

Slacker!

 

[miss fortune]

as chief tormentor of a group of people at work, who's performance is a reflection of how well I do (and therefore what I get evaluated on!), I choose to use the carrot and the stick approach... mostly the carrot. I bring them breakfast, patiently help them out with things that they have problems with and speak up for them whenever I can... they genuinely WANT to do the right thing because they don't want to disappoint me. That, combined with fear of "the look"

I've found that motivating by being likable is by far the easiest... guilt on the part of those who do wrong is a powerful motivator

 

[entropie]

I wish I still had groupwork on the job then I could make someone else do the stuff. Here I have to take all responsibility alone

 

[Giggly]

I wish I still had groupwork on the job then I could make someone else do the stuff. Here I have to take all responsibility alone

It is really nice when it works. I'm preparing to do more than my share just in case.

 

[entropie]

Yea, someone has always to step out of line

 

[BRMC117]

Please tell me that groupwork or teamwork gets easier and better on the job than it does while in school. Tell me that people who don't carry their load are weeded out at the job level.

more than likely not, you run into the problem of having too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.

 

[Cimarron]

Well, it's always like that, yes. But you don't need to carry more load than your fair share, if you're willing to accept that the deadline will not be met and everyone will be worse off. It's the only way to solve the tragedy of the commons with an equally shared payoff. I've done it sometimes, it's not that bad.

Exactly what I wanted to say.

[MENTION=4398]Giggly[/MENTION], you asked why I was overworking myself--this is why.

 

[Lark]

more than likely not, you run into the problem of having too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.

That's definitely a problem in any team, although I tend to find that the greatest teamkillers are also the pretenders to the throne, the sorts of people who'll disguise their own competence issues by believing they're really in a superior role to their colleagues, it can be as simple as monopolising channels for communication with outsiders or real superiors and in that role constantly issuing orders or simply delegating by refusing to volunteer themselves, ever.