Lessons on Teamwork
Child and Adolescent Global Mental Health has gifted me with many lessons this semester. As I reflect on all I have learned from my group’s partnership with Heal Historical Trauma — the value of strengths-based approaches, the resilience demonstrated by the Navajo or Diné people and other indigenous tribes, the impact of historical trauma, the untold history of colonization and Native American Boarding Schools and how silence around this history perpetuates trauma, and the important role of self-determinism in moving forward — I am surprised to my find myself wanting to instead share what I learned about teamwork and the collaborative process itself.
First, some context: as a recovering perfectionist, group projects scare me. I’m taken back to early childhood scenarios where I became stressed and bossy, where I took on too much work while the other kids in my group socially loafed. I remember finishing school-based group projects feeling lonely and misunderstood, and I recall thinking it would have been better if I had just worked alone. Since childhood, I have participated in professional and academic experiences that have depended on collaboration and have fostered team-building skills; not to mention, I’ve grown up! I understand that it is my own prerogative to have high expectations for my own work, but it is unfair to place those standards on others. I understand that group collaboration requires letting go of preconceived ideas about the collective outcome. I also understand that a group can accomplish much more than an individual.
Despite this understanding, I met my old fear of group projects when I first signed up for the Child and Adolescent Global Mental Health course. Amongst brilliant, competent peers, I knew I need not harbor fear around the group format; but while I conceptually understood and supported collaboration, I secretly feared I would fall back into old patterns. I worried that I would have to hold myself back in order for others to step up, or I felt afraid that my passion would be too loud and push others away.
As we now near the end of the term, I notice that I have gained a fresh outlook on teamwork. I credit this change to the early scaffolding around establishing group culture as well as my group’s consistent implementation of these concepts throughout our work together.
Our first meeting was spent getting to know one another over coffee. We established shared values right from the start, and we developed a written community agreement that acknowledged our commitment to respecting one another and the integrity of our group. We shared our hopes for the project, and we built a foundation of friendship and trust.
Throughout the semester, we upheld our intended culture and community values. We initiated consistent patterns of communication. There were moments where certain group members took on more or less work, there were moments of varying productivity or momentum; but these fluctuations did not define the overall experience because we had built a strong enough container as a group — everything balanced out. This strong container also allowed us to adapt and adjust our collective vision. Our initial conceptualization of what our project would entail looked very different when we first began. Originally, we delved into psychological frameworks and began thinking about ways to bring these ideas into the community. By the end, we found the best approach was to focus on existing community strengths. At the start, we perhaps imagined building something polished or robust; but now, we understand that our efforts are but a small piece of Heal Historical Trauma’s larger initiative.
On an individual level, the Balloon and String metaphor helped me understand how to apply my strengths in ways that would benefit the group context. This framework was introduced by Anushka Ansel in her presentation on group alignment. She suggested that within every group, there are Balloons: those who come up with ideas, and Strings: those who anchor and organize the ideas. Without the Balloons, the Strings have nothing to hold onto; and without the Strings, the Balloons are detached or may even float away.
I first thought I had to choose which role I would take within my group, but I came to find that I could embody either depending on what the situation called for. In generative moments, I was a Balloon. I spoke up and shared ideas with my teammates. I felt heard when they helped me organize my ideas into concrete, tangible deliverables. When others had research findings or exciting ideas to share, or when our NGO partner introduced new elements related to the tasks at hand, I was a String. I listened and conceptualized ways to synthesize the information or link multiple ideas together. I think this flexibility between being a balloon or string was possible because of our group culture. With dynamic built on mutual respect, we were able to adapt; and this adaptability led us to organically take turns being Balloons and Strings. As a result, I believe each each group member pulled their weight, gave and received support, and shined.
Overall, the course’s scaffolding around establishing a group culture provided me with new ways to understand my own collaborative nature, and I feel more confident and unafraid embarking on future group projects because I feel equipped with tools that introduce and foster healthy group dynamics.
