2 words. Group Project

You’re quietly sitting at your desk, working on … well…work… when your boss walks in and utters two words that send your heart racing. You sit down for a new semester and start reading the syllabus as you notice the professor has a strange glint in her eye… you glance back down and see it: GROUP PROJECT. Head meets desk. You’re dead.

WHY!??! Why must they throw these wretched beasts at us? Most of us would much rather work alone, on our own time, taking control and getting it done *RIGHT,* yet these “people” insist on throwing us into little groups and WHY!?

Ahh there are so many wonderful things about group projects (I know, “gasp!” right?)  First, as much as you may loathe the truth, we all have to learn to work together because no one can do anything alone. Group projects help us learn to tap into our own talents while letting others utilize their talents. We learn to listen to each other, see that other ideas may work better than our own (I know, I know, perish the thought, but it happens), and on a short deadline, there is often no way to do it all on your own. So how do you survive?

1. Take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. No one ever died from a group project (do not quote me, I did not do research… perhaps a partner did throw another one into the office pool or something).
2. On your first group meeting, plan to spend 15 to 20 minutes getting to know each other. By learning more about each other, you can see personalities, potential, you bond and find commonalities, you get an idea of the other members’ work ethics.
3. Talk about the project, you can gauge actual interest versus “I have to do this,” which will help you determine your future steps.
4. Make sure everyone is dedicated to the project (it is better to know up front that one person really just needs to get through this to prove something to the boss or to receive that passing grade).
5. Talk about the project and break it down. Look at the timeline and group members’ other commitments (personal and professional). Talk about how much time each person will contribute and WHAT they can bring to the table (if this has not already been decided by the powers that be).
6. Start talking about the project. First, as weird as this sounds, brain storm CRAZY out of the box, never going to happen ideas (you never know how this could inspire the group for more realistic ideas).
7. Consider budget, if that is a factor.
8. As you streamline your brain storming (plan at least a two hour free talk session), hone in on one or two and keep expanding on both of those ideas until one is a clear winner.
9. Break it down into a reasonable timeline of getting things done.
10. Create some built in Plan B through G’s (redundancies, if/then) so if something fails, the project is not put on hold while you go back to the drawing board. Take as many factors into consideration as possible and have an answer (or two).
11. BE PREPARED. People will fall through, nothing will go as planned, this is your time to shine.
12. NEGOTIATE and know when to let things go. Be okay with others’ ideas, it’s a GROUP project not a YOU project. Keep the focus on the actual project rather than a tally of “your ideas” that get used. If the project succeeds, YOU succeed.
13. Be a Problem Solver. Sometimes, it IS your zoo and those ARE your monkeys (and they are currently slinging their poop at your guests). Take a deep breath, laugh (because unless you are performing a lifesaving surgery, no lives are actually at stake), and get to solving the problem as a team.
14. Be FLEXIBLE. This project has your name on it, but it is not entirely YOUR project. Own it as a group (this is the most difficult thing to learn about working group projects).
15. You can’t always get your way, your idea is not always the best, and you have to share the responsibility. This is another difficult one to learn because there is always one person in the group who wants to take the reins and do everything “the right way,” and there is always one person who would rather let anyone else do everything but take the credit. That is part of life and part of the beast of group projects.