Over the
past two months, we have all slogged hard over this thing called The Proposal.
Through the process of coming up with a feasible proposal and penning it down
in a persuasive way, I have picked up many valuable lessons on project work as
well as proposal writing.
Firstly, on
project work. This is always a tricky matter because everyone has different
schedules and different styles of working. With technological advancements such
as Google drive and Dropbox, the first problem is easily overcome as we were
able to ‘meet’ and discuss work virtually as opposed to frequently scheduling a
time when everyone is free to meet up and discuss the project in person. However,
working style is a much more complicated matter. Effective communication is extremely
important when working in a team so that each person’s ideas can be put across
clearly and to minimize misunderstandings. Thankfully, my group came up with a
rough outline and expectations before getting down to work so that everyone has
a mutual understanding of what is expected. I am also very grateful for very
understanding teammates who were extremely forbearing towards my shortcomings
and busy schedule.
Secondly,
on proposal writing. Prior to this project, I have never written a proposal,
only essays and lab reports. I thus picked up many valuable lessons on how to
write and present a persuasive proposal in the process. As a team, we also
learnt from each other as we proofread one another’s work and observed how our
team members presented their ideas.
All in all,
working on this team-based project proposal has been fulfilling and an
eye-opener to different working styles. One of the most important takeaways I got from
this experience is the importance of communication, especially when working
with other people who may not think the same way that you do.
Wow, sounds like that thing called The Proposal has really led your team and yourself on quite a process of understanding the functioning, and nuances, of 'The Team' and teamwork even more!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your point on communication. One of my takeaways (though not explicitly mentioned in my post) was also the need for constant and clear communication.
However, I felt that your use of the phrase 'effective communication' was also apt. Nowadays, it appears to be overwhelmingly demanding to give a teammate a phone-call to check on his or her progress. It's usually more appropriate to sms, or whatsapp, and that requires patience and the understanding that people ARE busy and operate on different work-schedules from ourselves. Even constant and clear communication still needs to be communicated effectively.
Thought provoking post, Yvonne!
I agree with Nan that your post is indeed thought-provoking particularly what you said about your team's preparation- "my group came up with a rough outline and expectations before getting down to work so that everyone has a mutual understanding of what is expected" - does this also mean that you all had a clear undertsnding of the strategy everyone was going to employ in carrying out the project before you actually embarked on it?
ReplyDeleteWhat we did was to lay out clearly who was going to do what and a rough outline of how it should be done, eg. for each solution, we had to evaluate the current situation, followed by our proposed idea, followed by the benefits of it, then the limitations and how to overcome them, and finally the conclusion. I hope that explains things!
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