CHAPTER 3 – TEAM WORK AND COLLABORATIVE WRITING
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: This chapter covers some of the fundamentals of team
work. After introducing the importance and prevalence of team work in the
processional world and workplace, the chapter describes how best to build teams
and ensure that they run smoothly. One of the first things a team needs to do is
take an inventory of each member’s qualifications. Assessing qualifications
allows teams to better assign roles, some of which are described in this chapter.
Once the team has been built and everyone knows their responsibilities, the
planning stage begins – specific responsibilities are allocated among the group
members to best fit their qualifications, the group writes out a schedule, and
plans for any problems that may arise either within or outside the group. The
chapter ends with a number of tips for a successful team project.
3.1 – INTRODUCTION: Collaboration is a necessary task in most workplaces.
Collaborative writing is one of the most common ways people in the worlds of
business, government, science, and technology handle large writing projects. In
the professional and scholarly worlds, a lot of time, research, and energy have
been devoted to understanding how teams work, and how to make them work
more effectively. There is an entire industry devoted to assisting companies and
organizations to get the most out of teamwork. In your career, you are more than
likely to have to encounter situations where you have to work, and write,
collaboratively. This chapter aims to help you develop the knowledge and skills
to work effectively in groups.
o Some people dislike group work due to negative past experiences. They
may be the person who seems to do more than others, they may dislike
having to rely on another person to follow through, or maybe they feel it
was difficult to pull together so many ideas from so many people. Others
do not mind it. They may have had positive experiences and see the
value in group work. In fact, if done correctly, collaboration can be an
effective tool for getting work done.
o Thanks to ever emerging new technologies, writers can collaborate in
exciting new ways. Using tools such as Google Docs, writers can work on
texts synchronously even when they are separated by continents and
oceans. Using discussion forums, musicians can exchange and remix
chords with other artists from around the world. Via Skype, writers can
talk with one another as they collaborate in a shared white space. And
then there is Wikipedia, one of the most successful collaborative writing
projects ever conceived and executed. Clearly, good collaboration skills
are more important now than ever before. In our e-culture, being a
successful collaborator is crucial to success. Today’s workers use multiple
media to share and construct meaning. Today’s workers must be symbol
analysts and are especially social in terms of how they communicate and
learn.
o When the first cave man started doodling on a stone canvas, he probably
had colleagues looking over his should, suggesting that he hold the brush
, a different way, mix the pain differently, perhaps make the buffalo appear
fiercer, and so on. Many people find discussions with trusted colleagues
to be an invaluable way to develop and polish ideas. Professionals in
most disciplines, for example, attend conferences so that they can discuss
ideas with colleagues and leading researchers. Writers in business and
scientific contexts commonly work in teams with individuals responsible for
their area of expertise, such as marketing language, audience, finance,
research, and editing. Some authors do not feel comfortable beginning a
new project until they have discussed their ideas with others. Successful
writers do not wait until they have completed a project before seeking
constructive criticism. Instead, they share early drafts with critics.
This chapter will provide information and resources to help you master
collaboration skills.
3.2 – BUILDING A TEAM: In the 1960s the psychologist Bruce Tuckman
described four stages of team building: Forming, Storming, Norming, and
Performing. While there has been a lot of research since then on team
formation, Tuckman’s stages are still often considered the benchmark for team
building. You can find any number of articles, books, and videos that elaborate
on Tuckman’s research. For a quick overview, have a look at this Mind Tools
article and brief video: “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing:
Understanding the Stages of Team Formation” before you read the rest of this
chapter.
o If you can choose your partners for a collaborative project, it is tempting to
choose friends and/or people with similar backgrounds as yourself. If the
project is deeply discipline-specific, this may be a good idea. Working
with friends and close colleagues can help ease the awkward early stages
of a project. However, projects that require teams often include aspects
form multiple fields and disciplines. When you begin picking team
members for a writing project in a technical writing course, you should
consider people with different backgrounds and interests. Just as a
diverse, well-rounded background for an individual writer is an advantage,
a group of diverse individuals makes for a well-rounded writing team. As a
side note, it is never a good idea to work in a team with a romantic partner.
It can be annoying and awkward for the rest of the team to watch as you
and your partner canoodle or bicker. And modern romance such as it is,
nothing can damage a team quicker than a romantic break-up in the
middle of a project. At the same time, collaborators can become
obstacles, requiring constant supervision. In group situations, other
students can fail to attend classes or out-of-class meetings; they can
ignore your efforts and just focus on their own missions or visions about
ways documents should be written. When collaborators do not do their
job, they can become an annoyance – just another obstacle rather than a
support and an inspiration to colleagues.
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: This chapter covers some of the fundamentals of team
work. After introducing the importance and prevalence of team work in the
processional world and workplace, the chapter describes how best to build teams
and ensure that they run smoothly. One of the first things a team needs to do is
take an inventory of each member’s qualifications. Assessing qualifications
allows teams to better assign roles, some of which are described in this chapter.
Once the team has been built and everyone knows their responsibilities, the
planning stage begins – specific responsibilities are allocated among the group
members to best fit their qualifications, the group writes out a schedule, and
plans for any problems that may arise either within or outside the group. The
chapter ends with a number of tips for a successful team project.
3.1 – INTRODUCTION: Collaboration is a necessary task in most workplaces.
Collaborative writing is one of the most common ways people in the worlds of
business, government, science, and technology handle large writing projects. In
the professional and scholarly worlds, a lot of time, research, and energy have
been devoted to understanding how teams work, and how to make them work
more effectively. There is an entire industry devoted to assisting companies and
organizations to get the most out of teamwork. In your career, you are more than
likely to have to encounter situations where you have to work, and write,
collaboratively. This chapter aims to help you develop the knowledge and skills
to work effectively in groups.
o Some people dislike group work due to negative past experiences. They
may be the person who seems to do more than others, they may dislike
having to rely on another person to follow through, or maybe they feel it
was difficult to pull together so many ideas from so many people. Others
do not mind it. They may have had positive experiences and see the
value in group work. In fact, if done correctly, collaboration can be an
effective tool for getting work done.
o Thanks to ever emerging new technologies, writers can collaborate in
exciting new ways. Using tools such as Google Docs, writers can work on
texts synchronously even when they are separated by continents and
oceans. Using discussion forums, musicians can exchange and remix
chords with other artists from around the world. Via Skype, writers can
talk with one another as they collaborate in a shared white space. And
then there is Wikipedia, one of the most successful collaborative writing
projects ever conceived and executed. Clearly, good collaboration skills
are more important now than ever before. In our e-culture, being a
successful collaborator is crucial to success. Today’s workers use multiple
media to share and construct meaning. Today’s workers must be symbol
analysts and are especially social in terms of how they communicate and
learn.
o When the first cave man started doodling on a stone canvas, he probably
had colleagues looking over his should, suggesting that he hold the brush
, a different way, mix the pain differently, perhaps make the buffalo appear
fiercer, and so on. Many people find discussions with trusted colleagues
to be an invaluable way to develop and polish ideas. Professionals in
most disciplines, for example, attend conferences so that they can discuss
ideas with colleagues and leading researchers. Writers in business and
scientific contexts commonly work in teams with individuals responsible for
their area of expertise, such as marketing language, audience, finance,
research, and editing. Some authors do not feel comfortable beginning a
new project until they have discussed their ideas with others. Successful
writers do not wait until they have completed a project before seeking
constructive criticism. Instead, they share early drafts with critics.
This chapter will provide information and resources to help you master
collaboration skills.
3.2 – BUILDING A TEAM: In the 1960s the psychologist Bruce Tuckman
described four stages of team building: Forming, Storming, Norming, and
Performing. While there has been a lot of research since then on team
formation, Tuckman’s stages are still often considered the benchmark for team
building. You can find any number of articles, books, and videos that elaborate
on Tuckman’s research. For a quick overview, have a look at this Mind Tools
article and brief video: “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing:
Understanding the Stages of Team Formation” before you read the rest of this
chapter.
o If you can choose your partners for a collaborative project, it is tempting to
choose friends and/or people with similar backgrounds as yourself. If the
project is deeply discipline-specific, this may be a good idea. Working
with friends and close colleagues can help ease the awkward early stages
of a project. However, projects that require teams often include aspects
form multiple fields and disciplines. When you begin picking team
members for a writing project in a technical writing course, you should
consider people with different backgrounds and interests. Just as a
diverse, well-rounded background for an individual writer is an advantage,
a group of diverse individuals makes for a well-rounded writing team. As a
side note, it is never a good idea to work in a team with a romantic partner.
It can be annoying and awkward for the rest of the team to watch as you
and your partner canoodle or bicker. And modern romance such as it is,
nothing can damage a team quicker than a romantic break-up in the
middle of a project. At the same time, collaborators can become
obstacles, requiring constant supervision. In group situations, other
students can fail to attend classes or out-of-class meetings; they can
ignore your efforts and just focus on their own missions or visions about
ways documents should be written. When collaborators do not do their
job, they can become an annoyance – just another obstacle rather than a
support and an inspiration to colleagues.
