August 17, 2010

Succeeding with a Group of Type A Individuals (5 Tips)

Photo credit: http://technomarketer.typepad.com/technomarketer/2008/04/developing-pers.html

I just completed my first 400-level Business course ever! Intimidated at first, I quickly adjusted to the course (titled Integrated Marketing Communications – or IMC for short) and eventually got a really great mark.

A huge part of my the IMC course this semester involved a group project. By now, I’m already used to working in teams. If you’re in the Business faculty, you can pretty much expect to have at least one group project per semester. This project was a bit different though as it involved 9 to 11 group members. As far as school projects go, that’s a pretty huge group. And because part of the project is creating synergy among our individual efforts, it took a lot of time to complete, both working individually and as a group.

Another thing that’s unusual with my group is that it was made up of mostly Type A individuals. At the beginning of the semester, two of my classmates already had some idea of how the group project would go because they had friends who had taken the course. They’ve set out to organize a group, ensuring that only the best are in. The result? A team of nine intelligent, competitive individuals acting as a full-service marketing communications agency that will pitch a project to a case study about a cruise line.

Our team did pretty well, but more importantly, we got along well. There were moments of conflicts and disagreements; however, never at one point did we feel like killing each other. And whenever you have 9 talented people in the same room, that’s a good thing.

Having gone through this experience successfully, I’d like to offer a list of five things I’ve learned working closely with this group:

Listen – and know when to follow. We’re all very competitive, and so all of us also were leaders in our own right. Truth be told, I naturally fill in leadership roles in team projects. (The fact that I’m older than most students may have something to do with it.) While it was initially challenging to just lay back and let others take over, I made sure that I actively listened and let certain individuals shine when they had good ideas.
Give sincere compliments. Just because your teammates are naturally achievers, it doesn’t mean that they can’t/won’t appreciate compliments. They are all still humans who may be looking for validation and approval from others. Remembering to give credit where credit is due allowed me to better connect with my team.
Question everything. In addition to giving compliments, make sure you’re providing enough feedback to any ideas brought to the table. The team’s devil’s advocate is frequently very valuable, especially at times when everyone seems to be agreeing on everything. From my experience, competitive individuals constantly seek improvement. Politely challenging their thoughts and ideas show that you’re listening, and they’ll often appreciate this.
Work harder than ever before! My team was very outspoken, and my thoughts were questioned and challenged along the way, too. That’s good! Prepare to work your butt off if you’d like to succeed in a team of Type As. That’s the only way you’ll get their respect and admiration.
(Finally and most importantly….) Be yourself. These people are humans, too. They can appreciate a good joke, and often, they are cool and very sociable. Don’t be afraid to just be yourself: being uptight will not do you any favors.

In the end, our team beat out two other agencies and was awarded the account. We won both the written report component as well as the presentation. Working with the best team possible pays off big time, but you need to be prepared to make the necessary attitude and work ethic adjustments.

Have you ever worked with a team of highly competitive individuals? What were some of your strategies you’ve learned dealing with them?