Reflecting on Group Presentations: A Journey of Teamwork and Development

Reflective Journal

Reflect on the process of your group presentations. Identify and critically
evaluate the strategies used, and indicate how you will address areas for
development.
I had never realized the importance of self-reflection to evaluate my progress and my
shortcomings, before I participated in an important group presentation. I had not
given the idea of working in a group much thought, because I assumed that it would
be fairly simple. All we had to do was select a topic and make a neat presentation
based on it. However, when my team members and I sat down to discuss an
appropriate topic, we could not reach agreement. I had done a considerable amount
of research before this discussion, and I could not reconcile with the idea of leaving
my chosen topics behind, in favour of assessing new ones. I was easily angered
when my team members suggested that we should conduct fresh research, as I felt
that they did not value my opinion and my contribution. When we began the
discussion, we found faults with each other’s arguments and thus, the process of
choosing a presentation topic got delayed. According to Tuckman’s Teamwork
Theory, at this juncture, our team was in the storming stage, the second phase of the
Theory, which involves team members disagreeing, challenging each other and
continuously engaging in conflict (Betts and Healy, 2015).
As the deadline grew closer, we were all concerned about the presentation, but
neither my team members nor I could come to a conclusion as to how we should
deal with our problems. We decided to study some leadership theories to find a
solution, and I learnt about Belbin’s theory of team roles. According to this theory,
assigning autonomous, but important roles to every team member empowers the
individuals and aids in group progress (Batenburg et al, 2013). To identify our roles,
we took turns assessing our strengths and key flaws, and then writing down what we
thought each other’s strong points and weaknesses were. This way, we began to
agree for the first time since the team’s formation, and the process of assigning roles
also helped us bond as a group.
However, when we practised delivering the presentation a few days before the final
presentation, a couple of team members were not confident and they kept forgetting
their portion. I was impatient to see results, and with the final presentation mere days
away, I panicked and made some harsh comments to those team members. In

retrospect, I realized that I should not have said such unkind things, and that I should
have motivated my team members to practise their parts, rather than chastising them
for making human mistakes. According to McGregor’s X and Y Theory, individuals
perform better and have better relationships when they are encouraged, guided and
given chances for improvement (Zulch, 2014). Now that I have understood this
theory and its importance, I will be sure to implement it in other teams I may be a
part of in future. I will attempt to inspire and motivate my team members so that we
can achieve our goal as a team, as well as establish a strong relationship with each
other.
On the day of the presentation, we were all nervous because we had not been able
to complete successful rehearsals of the presentation in the preceding days. Each of
us kept reminding the other their points, and the last-minute agitation had all of us
confused as we finally proceeded to give the presentation. Due to our individual
nervousness and consequent lack of cohesion, we made several blunders during the
presentation.
Looking back, these errors may not have been noticeable at all, but because of how
stressed we were, we ended up blaming each other after the presentation. When
blamed, each of us got defensive and refused to accept that any of it was our fault.
Finally, a team member pointed out that we were not achieving anything by passing
the blame, and that if we did not address the issue immediately, our newfound
friendship would collapse. We discussed the problem at length came to a conclusion
that what we had been attempting to do when we blamed each other, was
scapegoating, a practice highly negative for a team environment. Instead of
evaluating our practises, which may have been faulty, we were accusing each other
of being the culprit. This acceptance led to a peaceful conflict resolution for the entire
team, and thus, we could understand where we had been making mistakes.
In conclusion, I learnt to give people opportunities to correct mistakes, as I received
plentiful opportunities to do the same, from my team members. I learnt that in a
team, every member is equal and must be given the right to voice their opinion.
Additionally, my team members and I understood that every team will take some
time to flourish. I realized that teamwork always needs effort, patience and practice
to become a cohesive unit.

Reference List
Betts, S. and Healy, W., 2015. Having a ball catching on to teamwork: an
experiential learning approach to teaching the phases of group development.
Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 19(2), p.1.
Batenburg, R., van Walbeek, W. and in der Maur, W., 2013. Belbin role diversity and
team performance: is there a relationship?. Journal of Management
Development, 32(8), pp.901-913.
Zulch, B., 2014. Leadership communication in project management. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 119, pp.172-181