We’ve all been part of a group project at some point in our lives. It’s practically a staple of the student experience, and there’s a reason for this. There are many benefits of working in collaboration with others, and seeing as collaboration will continue to be an invaluable skill in the workforce, it’s a good idea to cultivate that skill in the classroom. Plenty of amazing works have come out of collaborative efforts— a testament to its effectiveness.
So why do so many people have terrible experiences with collaborative work? You hear it all the time: The other group members were a nightmare to work with, no one could agree on what to do and everyone refused to compromise, one person ended up saddled with all the work, and so on and so on. Having so many cooks in the kitchen comes with many challenges, but there are steps we can take to facilitate the process, keeping the experience pleasant and effective.
The Writer’s Guide to Working Together
In her writing, “Writing “Eyeball To Eyeball”: Building a Successful Collaboration”, Rebecca Ingalls describes how a handful of suggestions can ease the experience of working in a group. While her descriptions focus more on the context of a classroom setting, these principles can apply to any collaborative project.
The first suggestion Ingalls makes is to go into any new project with an open mind. While you shouldn’t completely disregard past experiences with group work, you also shouldn’t rely on them to dictate your actions during the current project. Strategies that worked with one group may not carry over to the next, and what lead to disaster once may not have the same effect in the present. Every group is going to be different, as will be the goals and desired end result of each project. With this in mind, choosing your group is also an important factor in how your experience will go. Working with individuals with different perspectives may make for an interesting end result, or it may cause tension. Working with close friends may work to your advantage, or it could cause strain within those relationships.
In order to combat the possibility of tension, Ingalls also suggests creating a group contract. The contract does not need to be formal, it just needs to be clear and serve its intended purpose for the group. The contract should include the intended goal of the project, the favored method of communication for the group, agreed on deadlines, ethics, and the group’s standards. Having all of these aspects established gives the group an idea of what to expect and work towards. This contract can be referred back to throughout the duration of the project, and will help the group streamline the process, as well as hopefully reduce, or even prevent, major conflict.
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