Developing a Winning Gameplan in Group Projects
The
venerable ''Conductor of Madness'' Ozzy
Osbourne once boasted "it's not how
you play the game, it's if you win or lose."
Ozzy may not have been the clearest thinking
fellow but those words should stick with
you if popular convention states the opposite.
Competition
School
is about learning while business school
is about winning. This is why competitive
people migrate to corporate life. While
learning is part of the process, the goal
is to come out on top. If mediocrity and
complacency were the norm, we would all
become government employees.
On
Your Marks…
Victory
can mean a pass for one student and a high
grade for another. What is key to remember
is that on day one, all group members are
on the same level. Some are better students
than others, some are faster, some may not
care about school and a few will not even
be there when the group meets. Each member
will go through a transition between day
one and presentation day.
Understanding
Each Member
The
sooner you realize the challenge inherent
in managing
people, the easier group work will be.
If you rush to split up the work and do
not take into consideration strengths and
weaknesses, you are setting yourself up
for failure. The difficult but rewarding
part about group work is getting more out
of students that a) thought they had all
the answers; b) did not care; c) were lazy
or d) all of the above.
The
implicit leader of the group must play the
role of arbitrator and coach. The last thing
he or she should do is let the ego run amok.
This is when personal issues arise.
Chicago
Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil
Jackson was a master at managing the greatest
player of all time, Michael Jordan. But
he also had to manage him within a system
that included stars Scottie Pippen and Dennis
Rodman. He subsequently presided over a
dominant Lakers team with stars Shaquille
O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Few
managers in professional sports understand
the dynamics of teamwork better than Joe
Torre of the New York Yankees. Torre has
led the Bronx Bombers to World Series Championships
by understanding how to manage a millionaire's
ego. At one point or another, Torre has
managed Roger Clemens, David Wells, Derek
Jeter, Darryl Strawberry, Paul O'Neil, Orlando
Hernandez, Andy Pettitte, John Wetteland,
Mariano Rivera, Chuck Knoblauch, Tino Martinez,
David Cone as well as numerous other all-stars.
Torre
took a page out of Vince Lombardi's play
book. The great Green Bay Packer' legend
said that: "Individual commitment to
a group effort – that is what makes
a team work, a company work, a society work,
a civilization work. Teamwork is what the
Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't
do it for individual glory. They did it
because they loved one another… The
achievements of an organization are the
results of the combined effort of each individual.
People who work together will win, whether
it be against complex football defenses,
or the problems of modern society. "
Find
out more about forming
a winning team.
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