The most beautiful thing about humans is our ability to think and come up with awesome ideas. the human mind is structured in such a way it could digest, process and interpret all sort of information, that is why it is mostly consider mankind greatest tool and a weapon. our capabilities to think effectively might differ that is why in most cases it is advisable to brainstorm as a team. in most organisations or companies whenever they are embarking on a project they create all sort of teams, Hr team, advertising team e.t.c just to increase the rate at which the project will become successful. they might be a genius in the team but he/she is not capable of thinking about every aspect of the project, there will surely be a part of the project that requires to source for ideas from other people.
A collective effort of the team is then put to test towards achieving the goals of the project, a continuous process of brainstorming together as a team. An idea can be brought to light by just an individual but to make it a reality it has to involve collective effort and contribution from others. imagine a building plan, the architect might have drawn every single structure needed to be put in place to achieve its aim but is that enough to make the the building a reality? he only can't construct the building without the effort of others.
As an individual, in most cases I have always played the role of a group/team leader during group/team projects, in fact throughout my higher national diploma days I was a group leader in all the project done in my department. though I wouldn't say I was the brightest but there is more to being a leader than just knowledge. A person who is appointed as the group leader must know how to communicate with people and have high tolerance because all group members can never have the same attitude, there will surely be some bad eggs among them it is left to the group leader to find a way to manage them effectively without affecting the aim and objectives of the group.
One thing about group project is that it involves collective effort most times, you don't have to do all the thinking and work yourself though you might be unlucky if you find yourself among completely lazy individuals 😅. that is why in school whenever I have the opportunity I tend to hand pick my group members. Since it is a group work, the ideas from every member of the group matters no matter how ridiculous the idea might sound.
A picture with a group member taken in agejo community where the documentsry was produced.
I remember a broadcast assignment we were given in school that involves production of a documentary about a community. we were grouped 30 in each group but eventually the number of students in my group grew higher. it wasn't an easy task, I spent days writing the documentary script. practically I would say I wrote the script alone and this was because they new I could do it alone as a result of previous assignments have been assigned to do with some members of my group, so some of them were aware of my capabilities. since I could do it to save me from the stress of calling a meeting before we could brainstorm about the details of the script. I just sat down and put the script together, after I was done called a meeting and read the script to them and deliberate on any details that could be added to the script. it was really fun because everyone was just coming up with different Ideas about some things that skipped my mind while writing the script.
No one is an Island of knowledge, it is impossible to know everything. especially when it was time for characterisation, which involves appointing members of the group to play roles in the script that best suit there personality, that was when I realise everyone has a natural talent. somethings just comes ordinarily to some people without stress. with such people it will be easier for them to play their roles in the documentary without feeling overwhelmed.
I wouldn't say it was all peaceful we fought a lot but the whole sacrifice was worth it because the documentary was produced and it was great. I posted it on my blog though it was a group project but I was the documentary script writer, director and also the producer, so that gave me the right to do so. though I posted it with the permission of my group members.
I have also experienced scenario when brainstorming as a team ended up becoming a disaster 😂, there is something I used to tell my group members, not everyone will take the lead role in a project and you can't just pick a role because you want it, it has to be something you are capable of handling. There was this advertising assignment we were given, the purpose of the assignment was to look for a company or product/service, advertise on behalf of the company/manufacturer. it is a practical to make us familiar with the process involved in advertising a company, product and services. we were expected to create a television advert, radio jingles and a printed magazine advert copy.
The whole issue began when each group members started suggesting which product/ service/company we should advertise. each and everyone of them wanted their choice of what to advertise to be chosen. I tried convincing them but their ego wouldn't let them think logically, the most tragic part is that we can only choose one, imagine just choosing one person idea out of 27 group members. some of my friends were in the group including my best friend, so how am I going to pick just a person idea without being accused of favouritism. I thought about it for days I couldn't find a way to sort it out.
Before we can advertise for a particular organisation or company we have to seek their approval for using their product or service for a practical. I knew not every company will approve our proposal, so that will reduce the number of companies and products on the list suggested by my group members. the disadvantage was that we had to visit every company suggested and that cost us a lot of money due to transportation. this could have been avoided if we just choose about 2 or 3 companies that we are sure of.
We ended up spending almost twice the budget for the practical compared to other groups, though it was not appropriate but there was nothing I could do about it. I can't afford to go against the wishes of 27 group members, that would make me a tyrant not a leader that appreciates the opinion of my team.
From both event I learnt there is more to leadership than doing the right thing, you can't always suggest and believe your idea or choice is the right one. even if it is, you still have to find a way to make your group/team to understand why it is the right choice and the need for them to consider it. if it doesn't work out you just have to go with the flow even if it means going the wrong way just to prove to everyone what the right choice is because the moment a leader forcefully implement a rule or an idea on his/her team mate, it means such person is depriving his/her team mates the right to express their opinion and taking away their sense of choice, in so doing they will surely Rebel against such tyranny.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Diversity of opinions" in hive learners community.
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