A: “Since you are in the design committee, I would like you to be in charge of publicity matters. Try to come up with a design for a poster by the end of next month because we need to give allowance time before the XYZ event starts just in case of last minute changes on the poster. We need to publicize the event asap.”
B: “But I have never tried designing anything before.”
A: “You can approach those who know if you have any problems.”
This took place when A was participating in a CCA in school. A, being the overall in-charge of the XYZ event, was hopeful to organize a successful event but she needed the help of her members. A few months passed and meetings were held without B because B always had something on. A had yet to receive any reply from B, so A wrote an email to B to clarify if there was any problem. B replied that she needed more time because she had other commitments and had no time to get C to help her. When B finally approached C, C was not in Singapore, so B had to wait for C to come back before C could help her. A then tried to contact C to find out the problem and see if there was anything she could do to speed up the process. C promised to submit a design by the following week. Read on to find out what happened in the end.
I believe there are similar situations that everyone has faced before. You can resolve an issue in many ways but choosing the most appropriate way to tackle the problem will make a difference. If there is communication breakdown between team members, it is very tough to come up with a good project that everyone can recognize.
You may ask why the responsibility was delegated to C in the end when A assigned the job to B at first. I wonder why too. This kind of situation is commonplace. What would you do if you were in such a situation? How would you ensure that things work out smoothly without any delay in your project and that you still remain on good terms with B and C after ironing out the issues with them?
Often, it is easier said than done. B and C would probably feel that A was pushing them too hard, and they did not want to get involved in such a matter, that was why they chose to avoid the problem and act ‘blur’ whenever they could. On the other hand, A wanted very much to help resolve the problem, but A felt hopeless after a few futile tries. What had caused these to happen? Either A took a wrong approach to the matter from the beginning, or that B was simply an irresponsible person and wanted to push her responsibility to C. But what could have been done to avoid such things from happening?
This was what happened later. A gave up waiting for the design from B and C and approached D instead. A few days before the event (after the event had been publicized), A received a sub-standard designed poster from B, but the design was actually done by C. -_- I believe you may have realized that A is actually me, from the tone with which I wrote. I really don’t know what was wrong with my instructions, I wished I could have approached B in person to tell her what I feel about her attitude, but meeting her was another impossible mission. Sometimes, people go all out to avoid you or suddenly disappear when tasks are assigned to them. I even wrote many emails to B to talk about this problem but all she was concerned with was giving her more time to submit the design to me, when she was actually waiting for C to send her the design. That is why we need so many rules and regulations to make people be responsible. Sometimes when communication cannot work, punishments do work really.
“The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.”
Joseph Priestley
*edited on 3rd Sept
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10 comments:
Hey there!
Isn't it a pain when you are the leader and your team members don't cooperate? It's a dilemma because there's the stress of making sure the project is completed on time, and there's also the stress of making sure you don't hurt or offend your group members in the process of getting the work done. That's a fine art of balance!
It was actually pretty obvious that B was trying to hide from his/her responsibility. Hmmm. Probably you could have approached B and C in person and talked it out with them, and understand their situation. If they have other commitments, then perhaps it's a better idea to find other people to replace them and delegate the job to other people who would be in a better position to help. Of course this is easier said then done.
Working in a committee requires a strong team effort and cooperation.Everyone must be willing to put in his best efforts to make sure that every event or activity planned is executed properly. One black sheep is enough to kill the morale of the entire committee. A good way is to build strong rapport with your team mates. Also, when conflicts arise, it's also good to step aside and talk things out nicely. Arguing and being angry with each other doesn't solve anything.
:)
Hi Eileen,
nice story you have shared. I felt the same way as you did. I have personally encountered a similar situation as you did.
I feel that B has no intention of doing the job at all. As the poster that was sent back to you was C's work and not B's. If I were B I would just try to do a poster and sent it to you. If it was not good, then B could sit down with you and C to discuss. Rather than dragging. It will not solve the problem at all.
If were you, after dedicating the job to B, I will also inform C that B will be approaching him for help. Then I will check with C after a week if B has approach him. If B has not, I will approach B and find out if there is any problem. If B were to ask for more time, I will just ask him to submit a draft. I will also ask B if he needs more help and the kind of help he needs. Probably he has no idea for the design. If so, I can find someone that's very creative to work with him.
I will also ask those who have worked with B before to see what kind of person B was in the other projects. Probably that will give me a clearer idea as to whether B is irresponsible or that he did not know how to do the job.
Dear Xinyi and Huixuan,
Thank you for your comments!=)
Indeed it just takes one black sheep to kill the morale of the entire committee, and the leader of the group will always be the one taking the blame for not doing his or her job well. For this case I was quite lucky because I could ask another person other than B and C to help me, but sometimes when you cant choose your group members, you will have a hard time and probably your project will not have a good grade.
So next time we must open our eyes big enough when choosing group members!
Dear Eileen,
The quote at the end certainly sums up this situation, doesn't it?
This is a clear and concise rendering of the problem scenario (though I would suggest that you use pseudonyms rather than letters as names, for more dramatic effect). You also state the question clearly, albeit grammatically incorrect. (What WOULD you DO if you were in such a situation?)
I like the way your commentators have responded, too. I simply feel it might have been better to provide the "solution" later, so that your readers could have seen this without the "answer" and deliberated. Or did you in fact revise it and add that info?
Hi Eileen,
I do think that B was trying to shirk her responsibilities like what Xin Yi said. (>.<)
Likewise, I would also have done what Xin Yi suggested, that is to talk to B face to face and find out what exactly are her 'commitments' and 'problems'. If she has valid reasons, then it is better to get another person to do the job.
Another alternative is to offer her some ideas to get her started. For instance, some details on what to include in the poster etc. It can probably act as a signal that you take this seriously and hint that you think she is taking too long to do the task.
Dear Brad and Joyce,
Thanks for correcting my grammar mistake, Brad, it was an oversight on my part(and my blogging buddy too =P).
Actually I was having a dilemma of whether or not i should give the solutions later, but I just couldn't help but quickly defend for myself and let the readers know that I did not sit down and do nothing about it.
As for what Joyce has commented, yeah I think that was a good suggestion. In fact, I have told B about what I expected for the design. But sadly she still refused to at least come out with some draft.
Anyway, thanks for commenting on my blog!=D
Dear Eileen!
My mistake, my mistake! Sorry for the oversight on my part. (>.<) Anyway, just to add on, should the part on 'How are you going to ensure...' be changed to 'How would you ensure...' as well? :S
I seriously need to check out the grammar rules. *Cry*
Dear Joyce,
Thanks for pointing out yet another mistake. Oh no, I really have to brush up my language again. =P
Dear eileen,
Commitment, co-operation and teamwork is really all that we want to see in a team, regardless of an academic team for a module or a CCA where you are in charged of organising events for your club. In order for projects and events to be timely organised and produced, it definitely requires the optimum amount of commitment from the team members and the leaders. Should one part become a "phantom" in the group, the pace of the group would probably be slowed down and projects could not finish in time.
Although I do believe that perhaps you could have went to her and ask her face to face whether what was happening and why the job could not be done by the deadline given. You could have given her some more allowances before asking another person to handle the job. However, with the lack of time and the event approaching, it was hard to give her more allowance when she was not even trying hard to get her job done.
Do not be too hard on yourself and give yourself a good pat on your shoulder! You have done all that you could. =)
Dear Eileen,
It's tough being the organizer right? Sometimes, you wish you could choose your own team members and do up a great job but, often, this is not possible.
I guess in the reality world, especially in the future workplace, we have to cope with such situations very often.
B is obviously trying not to do her job and push her responsibility back to you! Did she give you a valid reason as to why she was MIA for most of the meetings? I agree with what Joyce suggested, find out exactly why she's so busy, after which you can offer to help her. that is provided she is willing to confide in you.
All in all, I think it is very hard to avoid such incidents so don't worry too much. As long as you have done your job, its great!!! cheers!!
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