"Isms" in the Media

WHAT?

If I have learned anything since coming to Virginia Tech, it is all the elements that come with leadership and teamwork. Especially being in the Residential Leadership Community (RLC) has provided me with many opportunities to experience it firsthand. One of my favorite memories working with a team was Spring Semester 2010 when I was in a leadership class for Diversity and Social Justice. My group had to host a workshop and we chose to do it on “Isms in the Media”—meaning racism, sexism, ageism, etc. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the topic we presented, but it was a great learning experience. There were different aspects of both my leadership and team member skills that were enhanced, both through the preparation of the workshop and at the workshop itself.

SO WHAT?

I have worked with teams before, but this was probably the longest time-frame that I have worked with any one team. Our project and group were put together about midway through the semester. My group seemed to hit it off from the beginning. We all had pretty relaxed personalities and were open to different ideas brought to the table. We did not really have that initial “lag” that Levi brings up, and it seemed like everyone was on board to do his or her part from the get-go. Our group goals were clear from the beginning, and at one of our early meetings we pretty much assigned roles. In this case, our roles were basically specific parts of the project and we made each member responsible for a different “ism.” My particular topic was racism. Making this decision involved a lot of trust among all of us to do our specific part and do an acceptable job.

 NOW WHAT?

The workshop was a real success and I had no doubt it would be. Everyone was very reliable and that made me want to work that much harder to do my part too. I would say my group demonstrated a lot of cooperation, in a positive way—meaning there was never an issue of groupthink. Everyone presented their own ideas and we all got to be individually creative with our particular portion of the project. We had great communication throughout it, and honestly looking back I cannot recall an area of concern there. I was able to keep in contact with everyone in a timely fashion. I definitely consider myself very lucky to have been put in a group that worked out this way because I know that is not always the case. It was an awesome experience and definitely gave me a good picture of what the basic team process should look like.

Ultimate Team Characteristics!

WHAT?
Teams can take all kinds of forms, but, for me, my best team experiences have come from playing on different sports teams. Starting last fall of 2010, I joined the Women's Ultimate Frisbee Team here at Virginia Tech. It has been a very fun and rewarding experience so far. We went to a tournament held at Clemson University last weekend. It was a very fun weekend that allowed us to really work as a team and play well. Being put in a situation like playing on a sports team really allows you to get a feel for working with other people to achieve a task, and, ultimately, have fun doing it.
SO WHAT?

Characteristics seem to be similar whether you're on a sports team or work in an office. According to Levi, “A successful team completes its task, maintains good social relations, and promotes its members’ personal and professional development.” This is exactly what a team should look like and our tournament was no exception. Ultimately, our task is to win games, but mainly we just want to play well, have fun, and improve upon performance. During the games, we had to learn to work together and take each other's advice. 

NOW WHAT?

Looking back, it becomes evident how classic team characteristics have shown through. Social relations are a huge part when it comes to being on a team and that is where one of our biggest strengths occurred. You have to have good group cohesion (emotional ties to one another) and group communication is huge. Trusting and talking to your teammates is key. And, individual benefit occurs. We all improved upon performance and skill. I think just having a fun atmosphere such as this was key to our team's development.