Team Reflection Paper

As part of the two person executive secretariat team at Embassy Baghdad, I helped support our primary Mission Iraq goals: protecting America’s security by countering violence and instability, and renewing America’s competitive economic advantage through bilateral relationships and economic reform. Our team not only directly supported the Ambassador’s and the Deputy Chief of Mission's (DCM) engagement with the highest-level Iraqi interlocutors, but also supported working level meetings and reporting from all sections at Post, including USAID and the Departments of Defense, Treasury, and Justice. In the six months since my arrival, our team has processed more than 1,000 papers. Our work, almost always completed on the day of receipt, includes editing for grammar and content, checking and securing clearances, and drafting supplementary

My team- KaCee, Liberty, Angeleea, Jessey, Chanler, Regan, and I- were going on an expedition through the Brownstown gym Jungle. This Jungle is an interesting place; it had various terrain and elevation. We knew while we were going to explore that a river blocks our way, and we no choice but to cross to reach our destination. If it was a normal river, we could have walked across it, but the river was a hard surface filled with alligators. All we had was six logs to get across. We could stand on the logs, but there is a challenge. My team had seven people, two of which were blind, and all of us were tied together (another team did this to us). The goal was to cross the river faster than another group. We can because teamwork

Contrary to popular belief, volleyball is not an over-glorified version of ‘Don't let the balloon touch the floor’. Volleyball is about teamwork and personalities and skills. You can’t have a good volleyball team without teamwork, the correct personalities, and the correct skills. Volleyball players each have their own specific personality types that help them to excel in whatever position they may be in. Players also each have different mindsets and skills. With the correct combination, these three things can make for an incredible volleyball team.

Parrino, R., Kidwell, D. S, & Bates, T. W. (2012: Concept Review Video: Working Capital Management

In the current scenario, we are now a focused group of 60 members being lead by a very effective and efficient team leader. Our team leader is more of an authoritative team leader who gives an equal dose of control with effective and efficient interpersonal warmth. The members are always very attentive towards their team leader. They follow the instructions with finesse and complete the work within stipulated time and with utmost efficiency. It may be said that together the team works as a team when it comes to the execution of assigned work done.

Tell us about the most successful group project you have ever been a part of

Hands shaking, eyes rolling, flipping through the syllabus, I prepared myself for the group Organized Act of Kindness project. Group projects have always been dreadful for me; in high school, I was almost always the sole effort within the group. Unfortunately, due to my negative past experiences, I had a relatively negative fixed mindset going into the OAK project. Luckily, the other members of my OAK group were productive, friendly, and helpful; their attitudes and efforts helped me change my mind about group projects. By agreeing that we were all going to complete certain tasks and put in a certain amount of effort, we created a productive work environment in which we knew that no single person would be left to do the heavy lifting. Despite some bumps in the road along the way, our OAK project was ultimately a success and left us feeling positive and much closer as friends. Learning about group dynamics in class has opened my eyes and allowed me to realize that the members control how the group functions. My newfound understanding of group dynamics has translated to other aspects of my life, as I now see my role in group efforts in everything that I do.

There are many common problems found in teams. A good leader will attempt to get to the bottom of those concerns, and will at times devise ways to create team building exercises. Development of team building programs should work to resolve the issues, and ultimately create an environment where the team members are working together more effectively, and actually introduce and improve problems together. These type programs are best put together in a way that is customized to the team, because of the many associated variables. In understanding the concerns facing a team it is important to assess the data related to the problems and determine the best ways to use the data to increase the health of the team. There are specific alternatives

This EER period is out of the normal cycle due to my crossing the threshold for Tenure. I am truly excited that the Department is reviewing me for this honor. Mission Sierra Leone has given me the tools that I will need to succeed in the Service and I am grateful to both the Department and the Mission for the opportunity to begin here. During this abbreviated cycle, my team and I have worked very hard on many challenging projects over an unprecedented transfer season that exchanged 80% of the Department of State (DOS) personnel at post. To facilitate this season my team and I planned far in advance and were able to not only make smooth transitions but also make significant upgrades to our infrastructure with minimal disruption to customers.

My group’s first decision was to pick a topic and we all agreed to work on the solider topic. Once we knew both the topic and the group members we decided to meet to pick individual parts and do some research. Because that Wednesday was reading day it was decided that we would meet for a few hours in the library starting at 7 am. It was only Tyler, Meegan and I who met in the library. There is where we decided that Meegan would talk about the soldier’s experiences in battle and Tyler talked about the major leaders and the major battles in the Mexican American War. I spoke about the Texan revolution the Alamo and Texas becoming a state.

The perfect example of this situation is when we had to change labs for our advanced lab testing portion related to the Partner for Health program. Originally we used HDL labatory however due to some recent bad press we no longer felt this lab was a reliable option. We had to re-assure both the patients and the client that they would recieve the same quality of testing that they were use to with previous lab draws. As part of choosing a labatory, I reseached labs that offered similar advanced lab testing. I then sent the top three labs a proposal along with a list of questions. The questions were based on level of service, customer satisfation, flexibilty, and a request for data supporting population health research. Based on these responses

Teamwork: Being a player on a soccer team for many years, I know all too well the importance of teamwork and being a team player. I contribute my best every time I step on the pitch and support my fellow teammates.

Some employers may or may not be surprised to find some of their best workers are former student athletes. Children and young adults who participate in sports develop and learn many skills such as; strong team working skills, the importance of accountability, responsibility, how to take criticism, and heed taking directions. At a young age student athletes learn to balance school, sports, friends and family. Sports provide children and young adults a way to have fun and a positive way to relieve stress. Participating in a self-discipline activity, such as sports, also provides children and young adults with many social skills they will continue to expand on throughout their lives.

Dr. Meredith Belbin is well known for his team roles concept. The team roles identified by Belbin are based on certain patterns of behaviour that people exhibit within teams. These patterns of behaviour can potentially have an impact on the performance of the team. The basic premise of the Belbin team roles theory is quite simple.

Team meetings are an essential part of the program. It is important to attend all team meetings. You need to stay for the entire meeting. This will ensure everyone heard all the information. It is important to dress professionally for the team meeting. During the meeting, you need to have a notebook to write down notes from the meeting. You also need to take notes during your teaching sessions and share at the team meetings. Things to record are unusual changes in behavior. After each teaching session you need to update the graph. This will provide accurate information at the team meeting of the child’s progress. During a team meeting the provider may have to work with the child in front of the team. Remembering this is to ensure everyone implements