Real team(work)

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After reading the article that discussed the team performance curve, I totally agree with the characteristic of the different types of teams that were described on the curve, and I thought it would be interesting to relate the curve to the spaghetti and gum drop project we did in class.  After reading the part of the article that described the different types of teams, I wanted to categorize the team I was on into one of the teams on the curve.  I knew we were more than a working group because we all shared a common goal or objective, and that was to receive extra credit for the class.  Similarly, we shared another goal of developing a structure that would hold a decent amount of weight, and looked aesthetically pleasing.  We were not really concerned about the height of the structure.  After carefully analyzing the characteristics of each type of team in the article, I came to the conclusion that our team from class fit the "real team" classification.  This type of team is a small group of individuals committed to a common purpose and working approach, and holds themselves mutually accountable for the result.  In our team, the goal was to get extra credit.  Also, we all had a very similar working approach in that we needed to build some form of square object that had as many crossing sections as possible so it could hold the most weight.  Also, each member took acceptedaccountability if something did not turn out right.  For example, we wanted to put a steeple type design on the top of our structure, but unfortunately it did not stay attached and that portion crumbled.  Once this happened, no one pointed the finger at anyone.  The person who designed the piece held themselves accountable because they felt they could have built the piece better.  The rest of the group held themselves accountable for reasons such as: I should have given the person building the piece a pile of materials to use to make it easier for them, or I should have helped more in attaching the piece, or I should have switched chairs with the person making the steeple so they could have been closer to the main project.

Although we did not win the competition, signs of positive teamwork were prevalent.  I think these signs are more important than the extra credit because if we worked well as a team for this first assignment, I'm convinced that the same will occur when we work on the real project.  Who knows, maybe our team will even climb the ranks to the level of "high-performance team" by the time the final project is complete