San Jos� State University - URBP 200
Professor Asha Weinstein - Fall 2004

Guidelines for Effective Teamwork

Here are some guidelines to help your group work together effectively.  I suggest that your group discuss them at its first meeting, or soon after.

Setting team goals and procedures: Although the following issues may seem awkward to discuss, a team can help to prevent serious problems later on if the members come to agreement on them right at the beginning.

1. Discuss members� goals and expectations, including:

• The amount of time you expect to allocate.
• What you want to learn from doing the assignment.
• The grade you each hope for.

2. Develop a plan to prevent the �free rider� problem (a team member who does not fully participate).

• Develop a plan to deal with it, should the problem arise.
• One suggestion: agree to confront the problem the first time it happens.

Getting (and staying) organized: One of the challenges of working with other people is organizing yourselves so that you neither duplicate work, not leave tasks undone.

3. Analyze requirements for the semester-long assignment, as well as for each interim assignment (Parts I, II, III).

• Break up the assignment into discrete tasks.
• Be sure to include the tasks of group management (scheduling meetings, facilitating meetings, taking notes at meetings, etc.).
• Be sure to assign one or two people the task of preparing final documents to turn in.

4. Assign tasks.

• Make sure that all tasks are covered and that each person understands his/her tasks.

5. Put together a schedule, with work assignments and due dates, as well as meeting times.

6. Assign someone to take notes during each meeting and distribute those minutes afterwards.

• This can serve as a reminder to each member for what s/he agreed to do.
• If there is disagreement later about what the group decided, written notes help to reduce conflict.

Working effectively as a team

7. Encourage each person�s best contributions.

• Encourage everyone to speak during meetings and to give an opinion on important issues.
• Consider dividing up tasks according to each person�s strengths.

8. Be tactful but honest about your views.

• Your group work will progress most smoothly if you are honest about your ability to contribute, as well as about your opinions.
• Speak up if you feel there is a problem: it is dishonest of you to remain silent if you feel that the group has a problem that needs to be addressed.
• BUT: Remain tactful when expressing yourself.

9. Plan a time and format at the end of the semester to discuss the team�s successes and areas for improvement (mandatory).

• Decide on a time and format at the end of the semester to discuss each person�s strengths, as well as areas for improvement.
• At this time, you should also discuss how the group functioned as a whole and the lessons you have learned that you would use next time you work in a group setting.