Group leaders..

Photo from Max Pixel

In class we’ve been discussing the definition of “groups” and collaboration. On Tuesday we finalized our groups for a group project that will be coming up shortly. In this article we read for class, talks about how successful teams collaborate. During our discussion we talked about group roles and the steps to establishing group norms and how they work. 

I found this topic to be pretty interesting. A point was brought up about how usually one person in a group well naturally become the group “leader.” I’ve always wondered how that happened. Now I know that some people put more effort into group work more than others, but how does that one person really get picked as the group leader?

Usually in class we group with people sitting around us and most of the time we have no idea who these people are so when we start working on the assignment someone naturally just gets the spot and leads the group, but what happens when you’re grouped with a bunch of people who don’t really take charge and it get’s closer to the due date? I know that the majority of the time there is always a leader, hard workers and lazy go with the flow workers in a group but don’t you think in some cases, that does not always happen?

For me personally, choosing groups is hard. I want to be grouped with people who want to work. Honestly I am not the type to take charge when in a group but when I am given a task I complete by the deadline. I work better when someone guides me in the right direction. But what happens when there is a bunch of people like me in the group and no leader? Do you think work would be done?

-Confessions from a college student