The Value of Teams

I am currently working on two product design projects - sporting equipment for disabled athletes and teapots. The latter project is being designed by a team while the former is an individual undertaking. One notable difference between the processes (I've noticed this especially in the last few days/weeks) is that group projects enable me to overcome uncertainty quicker and smarter. I believe that the mutual support and purpose found in a group boosts my confidence and decision-making skills. For example, with the sporting equipment project I often spend a great deal of time finding reliable people to answer specific questions. Today I was working on designing a metal piece for a wheelchair and ran into some questions I could not answer or find out on my own - so I tried a local sporting goods store who then redirected me to a local metal shop. Though the welder/metal smith was incredibly helpful - I spent a good portion of the day on one small aspect of the project. There were several other questions still waiting for my attention. I think I may be "wasting" a lot of time deciding where to start when I am working by myself - especially when I hit a "wall" or challenge that I am not sure how to overcome. However, when I am working in teams, these challenges seem easier to overcome because I can rely on the group's collective intelligence while receiving affirmation on good ideas - in other words it helps filter out the bad or weaker ideas faster.

The teapot has moved at a much quicker pace in comparison. The team is able to make quick and confident decisions due to the group's thoughtfulness and mutual commitment to the project/purpose. A mutual commitment makes a significant difference in my ability to work well with others. If I doubt a teammates dedication or interest I am unable to fully trust them - which usually results in me doing most of the work and restricting their role - whether directly or indirectly (whether I deliberately choose to or instinctively do so). It is one aspect of my work that I have noticed and attempted to change - I try to give others the benefit of the doubt and allow them the freedom to explore in their own ways. As someone who places a strong sense of ownership into everything that I do - it can be hard for me to let others in. Though in a place like CCA, where I am surrounded by talented artists and designers, I rarely have this problem.

Regarding the Harvard Business Review article, "The Disciple of Teams", there was one quote that reminded me of my past experience with an architecture firm. On page 11 the author suggests that some corporations constrain themselves by assigning team roles based on positions rather than skills. In my last architecture job, the principals decided to form a special team to clarify a company document. As I was considered one of the better writers in my department, I was nominated to be a part of the team. I was very excited about it and invested significant time into the project - working with the others to help with the document. When our team went to present our ideas to the others (two principals) they did not let us share our ideas - in fact before we could even begin to speak they assumed control over the team and disregarded all the work that we had done completely. It was extremely frustrating and I was very frustrated with the company - who frequently boasts about how they empower their employees to develop their skills, etc. These two principals continued to edit the document according to their own agenda and it was a terrible piece of work. Because they were in higher positions in the company they ignored the input from their younger staff to achieve a weaker result. In fact, they eventually acknowledged their ideas were weak and opted to keep the document as it was originally. I wish I could have cited this article at the time of the final meeting!