RA360: Teamwork
TL;DR
Building a strong team with your coworkers and being a good team player yourself are crucial to having a fun and productive year. Pay attention to your team dynamic, reflect on your role and actions as a part of that team, and take action to build team bonds.
A BIG part of being a student staff member is being on a team. Working with your fellow student staff is critical for a well functioning high performing work environment and community, but we often don’t take a step back to check in and attend to the overall dynamics of a team. Take time to assess your current team? What is working well? What is not? What is your role in the team? How can it be improved?
Stages of Team Development
As an RA or students staff member, you will be on a team–maybe more than one. Your community is also a form of a team. Understanding a bit more about how teams development though time can be helpful in knowing what to expect and strategies you can use to helps teams get to the next level.
Bruce Tuckman’s research into group and team development identifies five stages that teams go through:
- Forming – Initial stage. Uncertainty. Getting to know one another.
- Storming – Potential for conflict. Figuring out how to resolve differences.
- Norming – Figuring out how to work together. Establishing group rules or norms.
- Performing – Getting things done. Working well together.
- Adjourning – Time to say goodbye as your work comes to an end.
This short video does a good job of explaining how these stages play out.
Things to think about:
- Have you seen these play out in past teams you’ve been a part of?
- What stage is your current team or community in?
- How can you help move the team forward?
Being A Better Team Player
Being a good teammate require you to reflect on your own actions. Think about how you can put your best effort in.
- Communicate Openly and Honestly
- Embrace Collaboration
- Be Reliable and Accountable
- Offer Support and Encouragement
- Be Open To Feedback
- Foster Inclusivity
- Balance Team and Individual Goals
- Handle Conflict Professionally
- Be Adaptable
- Lead By Example
Building A Better Team Dynamic
Teams work best when everyone makes a collective effort to make the team succeed. Check out the RA360 on Icebreakers and Teambuilders. These can be useful tools for helping build your team dynamic, especially at the start of your work together.
Your “Extended” Team
Questions To Ponder:
- Think about a time you were on a well functioning team. What made it so great?
- How can you be a better teammate to your current team? How can you encourage better teamwork?
RA360 Outcomes:
RAs and student staff members will be able to:
- Identify important aspects of successful staff teams.
- Promote teamwork and positive team behaviors on staff teams.
More To Explore
RA360 is a set of resources organized around skills, topics and competencies relevant to Resident Advisors and similar related student staff positions in college and university residence halls.
