* Teamwork Flashcards
Give An Example Of A Time You Worked In A Team And It Was Successful.
In psychology I was involved in a group project where we had to conduct our own experiment and produce a scientific paper.
We showed strong communication skills during this project. For example, I suggested we first established a series of measurable objectives that would help us manage our workload and tracked our progress. We spent time assessing the strength of each member so we could allocate work based on this. During the project we set up regular meetings to discuss any concerns or issues to assess if we should make any changes to our approaches This was because we understood that effective communication would help us avoid any conflict and stay productive.
When conflict arose, due to scheduling issues, the team stayed respectful of each other. I first talked to each member to establish specifically what their concern was and asked what they hoped the outcome of this situation would be. Understanding what both parties required helped me talk to both members and suggest solutions.
Throughout the project each member was adaptable For example, when writing the paper one of the members was off for many sessions due to covid. This mean I undertook tasks that weren’t originally assigned to me.
We kept an open mind on the suggestions from other members as we wanted to produce high quality work.
Give An Example Of A Time You Worked In A Team And You Failed.
During high school I was involved in a small fundraising team and we were raising money to send school supplies to children in Kenya. We decided to sell products such as bookmarks and badges. However on the day of the sales we realised another member of the team and I had both brought bookmarks and we had no other products to sell. This was an issue as we realised we didn’t offer possible customers much choice in the products they were buying so they seemed less interested in purchasing. . At the end of the day we had a meeting and made a plan to resolve this conflict. I made sure I adressed the issue without pacing blame and remaining calm. We came to conclusion that we did not communicate clearly what our individual tasks were. We resolved this by allocating specific work for each indivudal for the next time. We allocated work based on each members strengths and this involved compromising as not each member was involved in the task they wanted to do. This experience helped me develop how to be adaptable.
What Are The Attributes Of A Good Team Leader?
One attribute of a good team leader is effective communication. A team leader should be able to set measurable objectives and fully explain the purpose and reasoning behind these objectives to their team. During a school project, where I acted as team leader, I proposed a schedule, tasks allocations and time to share opinions and questions. My goal was to should provide each team member with a clear sense of direction and offer any help with areas of uncertainty. I know effective communication is vital in multidisciplinary teams because it maintains clarity about a patients care and helps prevent errors.
Another quality of a good team leader is being able to motivate their team. They should understand the strengths, weaknesses and aspirations of each member. This would help the leader allocate work accordingly and therefore increasing quality of work. Some ways a leader can motivate their team members is by praise, making themselves available, or giving freedom and responsibilities to help them advance. Motivation is common in medicine, for example, the method of see one, do one and teach one for clinical procedure. Motivation is also necessary in medicine as it’s a long path which requires emotional strength.
Finally, I would say that a good team leader should lead by example. This includes being confident in your work, being enthusiastic, working hard to be competent and developing new skills and treating the team with empathy and respect. Each of these behaviours helps form a productive and thriving work environment. Treating each other with respect and empathy helps build trust between members and shows the whole team is working with support to produce the best work. I know that this is important in medicine because having a health working environment then means NHS members can focus on their first priority which is patient centred care.
What Are The Attributes Of A Good Team Member?
I think a main attribute of a good team member is being able to understand your role. A member can do this by taking initiative and asking about specific goals they should achieve and asking for feedback on their performance in order to perfect any skills required for their role. Understanding your role is really important in medicine because it means all members are coordinated and can effectively work to provide the best care for the patients.
A team member should also be flexible. For example, I used to work in a small law firm and when colleagues were absent I took on many of their roles which wouldn’t normally be my responsibility. I did this by actively listening, and following specific instructions to quickly learn the skills required for the jobs. Adaptability is vital for a follower/ team member because a person may have to undergo many tasks they didn’t expect in order to produce high quality work. Flexibility is also needed in order to support other members. For example, by taking charge of my colleague’s work I ensured that the work was completed in a timely manner to then update clients.
Finally a team member should be respectful. They should understand that all of the team is trying to achieve the same goal and work productively. They should be considerate of how their actions affect other in the group and try to not engage in conflicts. High quality patient care is not something that can be achieved by just one person, doctors should always respect the need for the skills of other members.
Are You A Leader Or A Follower?
I would say that I have qualities of both a leader and a follower.
For example, a good quality of a team member is being helpful and taking initiative to complete tasks and I think I demonstrate these during high school. For example, I was part of a regular revision session group. When I notice someone is struggling with content, I help them by breaking what they are learning into more manageable parts and offer technique to help remember content. I think this is a key quality of a follower as it shows you are able to work together to achieve a common goal. Being helpful within a team also builds trust and allows for effective communication.
I can also easily adapt to different roles. For example, I used to work in a small law firm and when colleagues were absent I took on many of their roles which wouldn’t normally be my responsibility. I did this by actively listening, and following specific instructions to quickly learn the skills required for the jobs. Adaptability is vital for a follower/ team member because a person may have to undergo many tasks they didn’t expect in order to produce high quality work. Flexibility is also needed in order to support other members. For example, by taking charge of my colleague’s work I ensured that the work was completed in a timely manner to then update clients.
I also believe I have leadership skills. For example, a team leader should be able to communicate effectively. This includes setting measurable objectives and fully explain the purpose and reasoning behind these objectives to their team. During a school psychology project, where I acted as team leader, I proposed a schedule and tasks allocations based on the the strengths of the members. My goal was to should provide each team member with a clear sense of direction.
A good leader should also be approachable. This is to build trust and identify any potential issues at an early stage. In sixth form I taught a small group of year 7 students who were behind their reading level. I ensured I spoke to each person to find out any concerns and offer help with areas of uncertainty. This was so they understood my main goal was their progress and saw I prioritised their comfort when they may have felt judged or embarrassed.
In medcine it’s vital to have to have both leadership and follower qualities as you have to undertake a variety of roles to priorities patient care.
Is Teamwork Important In Medicine? Why?
Yes, teamwork is essential in Medicine because it helps medics helps provide high quality care. This is because by working in a team you are combining all of the strengths of each member and complete tasks for efficiently. This is especially true in multidisciplinary team where each member maybe be specialised in a certain area of medicine or have increased practice and skills doing certain tasks. Working together also reduces the number of medical errors which prioritises patient safety.
Teamwork in medicine can also help motivate people. Motivation is essential in medicine because it is a long process, you have to manage stressful workloads and possibly deal with uncertainties. Feeling you are supported by people who have experienced the same situations and issues as you can help soothe any emotional troubles. An example of this is the NHS staff support line which was established as a support network for staff tackling covid 19.
Overall teamwork is vital because it priorities the care of the most important member of the team - the patient, and ensure each worker is undertaking only what they are capable of without damaging their own health.
How Do You Resolve Conflict Within A Group?
I used to work as a secretary in a law firm where a group of clients arrived for appointments with their solicitors. However, I found out due to a scheduling error three clients were all given the same appointment time to meet with the same solicitor. The clients were understandably growing increasingly agitated that they had to wait longer than they originally planned. I understood that I had to conduct myself in a way that would de-escalated the situation
In times of conflict, I often find it is best to evaluate the situation in order to break it down and find a logical solution. My first step would be to acknowledge exactly what the conflict is rather than find excuses or place blame on how the conflict arose. This approach allowed me to calm the clients down as they saw I understood how this situation affected them and how unhappy they were. My next step would be to understand the expectations that need to met to resolve conflict. I did this by assessing which clients needed an urgent an appointment and which clients had other commitments.
My final step to resolve conflict is to form a step by step plan and communicating my reasoning. For example, I let one of the clients know that, if they were happy to, they would have to wait until the other clients as they didn’t have other commitments that day.
Overall, I think the main points to resolve conflict is to have the ability to adapt, be empathetic and be able to problem solve. I also think it’s vital that after a conflict is resolved you should always evaluate how to conflict arose and how it was handled. This helps prevent the same issue arising again and helps the process to resolve any similar further issues to occur effectively.
What Would You Do If You Were Working On A Group Project And Noticed Than One Member Of The Team Was Not Contributing?
The first thing I would do is approach them separately, away from the group to ask why the member wasn’t contributing. I would make sure to ask them if they had any issues with the work rather assume they’re unwilling.
If they did have any issues with the work I would ask if there is anything that I could help them with. I could suggest setting step by step goals together so they know what they specifically have to do in order to complete the work. I they needed help which wasn’t my arm of expertise I would direct them or help them to speak to a member of the team or team leader who could better help them.
If they weren’t expereicneing any issues and were just unwilling to do the work I would explain the negative consequences this has on the group and how it’s important that each member contributes to achieve a better result for the entire group. Again I Would ask if they needed help getting the work started or specifically knowing what steps to take.
As a final step, if the member still hasn’t contributing I would let the team leader or a supervising tutor know about what I feel. I would make sure to let the team member know that I’ll be approaching someone in a higher position. I would make sure to communicate my concerns in a calm and non-accusing manner.
Why Is It Important For A Team Leader To Be Able To Allocate?
work to suit best quality and strengths - best work produced, workload shared , emotional and mental toil, people work best when not overworked, shows you value and trust other members, allows chances for others to grow - more people to help
Good term leaders always wants the best quality of work produced by their team. This means while they might feel competent to finish work by themselves they should allocate work based on each team member’s unique skill set. For example, in multidisciplinary teams are made up of individuals from different healthcare professions that they have specialised in and they work together for the purpose of improving patient care.
A leader should be able to allocate work to show they are aware of their limits and can value the strengths of other team members. This can help build trust within a team when a leader shows they have faith in your work. Allocating work can also provide opportunities for team members to take on tasks to help them develop and perfect skills.
A final reason to allocate work is to organise work in a way that isn’t overly time-consuming or stressful. A leader may be able to complete al the work but asking for support from members can reduce the workload. This reduces stress and can in turn make sure the work produced is high quality and produced in a timely manner. This is vital in medicine as there is a high workload to a doctor daily tasks and the help of team members can speed up the process and allow doctors to provide care for patients quicker.
You Are The Team Leader For A Fundraising Project, And While Totalling Up The Donations You Find £20 Is Missing. You Suspect That One Of Your Team Members Has Been Keeping Some Of The Money To Themselves. What Do You Do?
Firstly when approaching this issue I will remember to maintain calm and approach it with no judgement as I don’t know the reasons why a team member may be keeping the money.
I would firstly talk to the whole group stating the fact that there is £20 missing. Then, ask if anyone knows what happened to it, and offer your team members the option to talk to you privately about this if they wish. This method gives that particular team member a chance to admit to what they have done, and also saves them the embarrassment of making it known to the whole group. I would state that I would wait a certain amount of time for a team member to come and talk to me about this.
If no one admits to taking the money. I would then approach who I think took the £20. I would talk to them separately, away from a group setting. I would tell them my doubts and try to understand why they may have took the money. I would explain the negative consequences this has on the charity, as well as the reputation of the group.
Lastly, if you have time in your interview, mention that you would approach the charity to explain that £20 has gone missing and that as the leader, you will try to raise that money again for the charity as soon as possible to keep your promise.
