Introduction

Hi everyone, I’m Yi Jing from Voice In. This video is our first attempt in part of our Solo-to-Team S2T Beta Programme. It is recommended for you to watch and participate in this video with your teammates side-by-side, if that’s not possible, reach out to them and share what you have gathered here. Let’s dive right into it!

Have you ever wondered ‘What is one small step towards a more enjoyable team experience’? Well, no need to answer me there but I’m sure everyone has probably complained about their team at least once in the past. There are many factors that come into play when it comes to good teamwork, and we have selected this component to explore with everyone here as it is not as strongly associated as other factors like communication. And this element that we have chosen is expectations management.

The ‘Maybe’ Situations

Let’s begin by exploring those challenging situations where you yourself could have been in when you were put into a team and had to work together in classes or in a work setting. Feel free to tally count as I read through this list.

1. Maybe you have been in a state of frustration because you had to do all the work by yourself. You had to work in isolation, surrounded just with your textbooks, computer and assignments, tucked away from the rest of the work.
2. Everybody is confused and nobody knows what to do.
3. Maybe you disagree with ideas that were brought up by the others and you had a better insight.
4. Maybe there was a lack of communication and clarity and people respond to your message one day after it had been sent.
5. And instead of a personality conflict, there was an internal competition between you and your team members.

If you had said no to any of these maybes, then congratulations! You are a very lucky individual, and have always managed to find yourself with an amazing team.

If teamwork was involved in so many troubles, why is it still valued so heavily?

Let’s dissect the definition of teamwork here. Teamwork can be described as a group of individuals, all working together towards a common purpose. As shown in the diagram above, team comes before work, and following through with this order it is suggesting that you’ve got to deal with the people first before you can do the work. It is not possible to avoid teamwork in the future, especially if you are planning to work on Earth. So why not use this time and space as your training ground for your professional career? As you teammates who are working on the same project as you could one day be your future colleague.

Going back to the focus step of this video which is managing expectations within a team setting, let’s do some practical practice together here. Please bring out your recording device, a pen and a piece of paper or your phone, please make sure to not share them with anyone until the end of this video. Use the next two minutes to write down what brings you satisfaction in a team setting and what expectations you would want to achieve in your current or upcoming projects. Focus on yourself and what you want to achieve. Here are some ideas: you could talk about grades, the love for learning or even bonding and making new friends. Are you ready?