Team week & Feedback (Week 6)

The team activities we did in the class turned out to be a very unique experience for me. Among all the team activities, I think the individual empathy map was the most powerful one. People usually can’t express their true feelings directly to others with spoken words. However, the form of this activity — write your opinions on post-its quietly, and stick them in different categories, is somehow magical. It not only helped me clarify my thoughts but also gave me courage to express my true feelings. Moreover, later when we talked through each other’s map, no one felt offended. The whole reflection experience was effective and comfortable. In the real world, I think people can only achieve this high level of maturity and honestly if they are already friends for a long period of time.

At first, it was a little hard to take some of the feedback I received. I was a little bit surprised about how my teammates thought about me either because I didn’t notice my problems myself or didn’t communicate my intentions clearly. But after taking time to reflect on myself, I do recognize my problems and realize that some of my behaviors can actually mislead people. Also, I think group dynamics is also an interesting and crucial factor that influence how I behave. I notice that the way I act in this dynamic (team in creative founder class) is a bit different from my previous group work experience and I think there are two reasons behind it. I often adjust my behaviors based on my teammates’ personalities and the depth of our relationships. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not, but now I think I should consider those aspects less and focus on myself and the project itself more. I am not yet sure how I can change after receiving this feedback, but at least now I am aware of my problems and hope I can make some changes.

At the beginning, I didn’t think the activities would be a big deal or help us change our behaviors, both collaboratively and individually. But now I realize that the activities can really help people to openly express their opinions. Even though I feel a little bit sad that people usually hold back to their true feelings, I am still glad that the activities actually help us become closer and be honest to each other. Before this week, I never actually experienced anything similar — giving honest feedback to others while receiving others’ feedback about yourself. The exchanging process is really powerful because I think that people can’t clearly understand themselves until receiving others’ feedback. This reminds me of an old saying from my home country — 當局者迷，旁觀者清, which means the bystander sees more than the ones who play. We all need others’ help to learn, which actually also echos the concept central to our project we are currently working on — a platform for students to exchange skills with each other. I think the most valuable experience that a student can have isn’t learning about technical skills or crafts, but learning from each other teaches us to communicate empathically and clearly and reflect on our behaviors within relationships. It’s hard to take feedback at first, but I guess we will get used to it soon.