Free Custom «Weekly Journal Reflection» Essay Paper

A team is essentially a formation of individuals each horning different skills, abilities, and strategies. The purpose of a team is to encapsulate each of an individual’s varying abilities into the group’s operational framework. The team therefore represents a fundamental contribution of all the different individual abilities through the spirit of corporation. This is entirely relevant in my field of psychotherapy, which involves dealing with human psychical and strain injuries resulting from muscle sprains due to extreme physical activity. This demands an approach in which the professional should be able to reach out to his clients in order to establish the needed interventions. Teamwork enables the identification and combination of different applicable strategies in promoting human physical fitness.

This is because one is bound to discover new avenues when in a group setting. Various types of groups are hence applicable in this kind of a setting (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993). The emphasis on a product design team fundamentals proves to be really instrumental in the context of the ‘Omega’ team due to significant involvement of different multidisciplinary approaches availed by the technical expertise offered by each group member. The Omega team is therefore in a position to apply basic design principles from each one’s professional background and enhance the team’s capabilities in the end. The implementation of a work team approach also proves very instrumental in enabling each member act independently in ensuring team activities are achieved according to initial plan or framework and time variables. Therefore, I have been able to critically analyze components of my professional boundaries and avoid delving into a fellow member’s area of expertise in a bid to cement working team chemistry. This enables adequately role definition in the course of achieving the Omega team strategies.

Week 2 Reflection

The essentials of establishing a working team formula is entrenched in the identification and clear definition of team values and core functions. These are among other critical components in establishing a working team chemistry. The essentials involved in finding a team are dependent on the efficiency of marching various individual entities by identifying the varying competencies. Getting a team started can be challenging task in that there is need for every team member to conform to the group’s objective and goal. For ‘Omega’ team the team members were essentially from different professional backgrounds hence the need to formulate standard group objectives. After the subsequent formulation, every group member needs to be oriented towards the emancipation of a common group goal. There are various strategies, which are applicable towards the enhancement of the group fundamentals. The ‘Omega’ group members were each required to formulate workable group policies that would be used to identify working strategies for the group.

The policies helped the group members to identify critical differences among group members and bring these together into a single platform. The identification of emerging group differences helped the members to create responsibilities for each of the members. The policies were to act as a guide for conducting group activities efficiently under minimal interference from outside sources each member was hence to come up with a code of ethics stipulating professional practices for each discipline (Henderson and Thompson, 2004). These were instrumental in the formulation of coherent group values under which ‘Omega’ is bound to operate. Apart from this, it became an important document in the establishment of terms of reference, which are critical in evaluating group performance with regard to individual input and multidisciplinary component. These aspects were advantageous in that group processes were adequately formulated to guide the establishment of long-term deliverables and conducting critical assessment functions focusing on enhancing a lasting relationship. For instance, physiotherapy code of ethics requires its professions to operate within stringent medical regulations, which guide the achievement of a global medical standard during conduction of medical procedures. Finally, Omega group members were able to inculcate critical values and ethical considerations of group value, which are emphasis the importance of service provision.

Week 3 Reflection

A team needs to function within certain provided guidelines to be followed by each professional member. This will actively entail the pursuit of disciplinary goals in order to enhance service delivery component. Various elements are hence important in establishing competent group characteristics that will work against the attainment of perceived goals. The importance of communication within a group setting has enabled me to identify ways in which one can pass across important information to group members. Certain group elements are generally fundamental in the establishment of functional group entities (Leggat, 2007). These enable the team to function within optimal parameters in a bid to achieve its initially designed goals according to the team work ethics guidelines. The existence of a competent leadership structure in the team is among important elements that cannot be overlooked in a group setting. The team members need to identify a member capable of steering group functions in the proper direction.

Challenges are bound to emerge in a team setting. The team has a responsibility of achieving its predetermined strategies, which may not be the case in certain instances. This could be attributed to a group’s lack of laid down structure defining the roles of each member. In a similar model to the one found in health care systems there is tendency of challenges arising from the varying member competency levels. This essentially creates a competency gap between actual practicing professionals and non-practicing professionals. Certain factors may fall out of the group’s control but systems need to be established to control the probability of an impending failure. At times, a member may not be in a position to meet his or her targeted deadline of which other members critically depend on to implement their functions. This leads to a form of failure similar to that of an organ system failure.  For instance, within the ‘Omega’ team setting resource mobilization is a major challenge in the achievement of project goals since members have their own desired limits of contribution. This is not specifically guided towards monetary gain. It is more of a question of human resource fundamental, which may cripple a team.

Through the interdisciplinary approach I have been able to contribute massively towards the formulation of the much needed work plans seen in a group setting. This is essentially a question of planning team deliverables in a fashion that identifies critical input from each individual. The establishment of a work plan serves to limit the chances of members digressing from the team aims and goals. The work plan sufficiently incorporates harmonization of existing team member competencies levels, which improves service provision.

Week 4 Reflection

Role definition is a critical component of a successful teamwork activity. Members in a team need to know their professional requirements to their level best. This eliminates the probability of a team experiencing potential conflicts in the process of members executing their project functions. Through ‘Omega’, I have been able to identify weak points in a team setting which usually results due to an impending information barrier. Team development is essentially a stepwise process that begins from the early stages of inception (Johnson & Johnson, 2000). What is the team’s purpose? What are the goals? These form some of the relevant questions applicable at the design phase. During this stage, it is important for members to accessorize critical elements, which will be used in evaluating the group fundamentals. As it, proceeds to its operational phase ‘Omega’ intends to utilize these goals in achieving the desired deliverables and the definition of time line variables.  These factors have enabled me to establish some of the critical entities that are instrumental in achieving group fundamentals.

Trustworthiness is what builds and encapsulates all team members in establishing the ‘team chemistry.’ Establishing trust elements in a team can be a very challenging task. Members need to operate within predetermined ethical barriers or else they risk incapacitating the team functions. Trust is essentially established through development of a functional accountability system, which aims at making all members entirely responsible for their acts with due process control.  Team building exercises are important in any professional environment in which members are required to account for project deliverables or organizational duties. This enables members to contribute efficiently into the team pool without subjecting people to unfair judgments. It aims at establishing working individual and work relationships apart from ensuring substantial accountability. In the process of creating cohesive team strategies there is need to establish confounding individual member interests, formulate a team initiative, identify a goal, and ultimately decide on deliverables.

Week 5 Reflection

Virtually all team settings are bound to experience problems among its members at one point or another. Problems emanating from the team setting are mostly attributed to the occurrence of incompatibilities among colleagues. Team members will at one time experience fundamental differences in accomplishing team goals. These differences are a normal occurrence in any organizational setting. Problem solving approaches are important in ensuring that team-building efforts are sustainability. The essence of a team is essentially to foster cooperation and accommodate varying professional backgrounds considering a multidisciplinary approach. Various conflict management strategies have been used in a number of institutional settings (LaFasto & Larson, 2001). These mainly rely upon the leadership style of the team as the leader keeps team activities on track substantially.

Conflict management essentially involves a combination of individual member efforts in promoting a seamless progression of team fundamentals. The members have the right to critique on any emerging concerns, which emanate from organizational duties and a constantly changing team social environment. Pursuing a social approach in this manner gives members substantially authority in determining certain decisions regarding their work. The art of problem solving has enabled ne to co-exist well with my ‘Omega’ team members in that I am able to identify potential conflict instances and formulate working strategies towards them in an incremental manner.

Week 6 Reflection

Communication strategies are very critical in the work environment. This provides a channel through which information flows from one critical centre to another. Members need to enhance their mode of communication if the team fundamentals are to be achieved in any way. Dialogic communication forms a critical part in the enhancement of the team chemistry. There are many instances in a team setting where dialogue is substantially used especially between conflicting parties. Team members need to understand the fact that in order for team to maintain a spirit among its members there is need for its members to acknowledge the fact that communication provides a major avenue for progressing team deliverables.

This essentially needs the familiarization with particular communication styles, which are entirely based upon the current context and environment (Lumsden and Lumsden, 1997). Fostering a virtual environment in which a typical communication framework can be subjected to test is very important. This is because these usually need to work in virtual entities before their implementation. A method for communication among members can therefore be established through scenario building among team members to identify critical control points. One member of the team needs to carry the element of positively influencing others and unifying the group. This should essentially be the leader of the group. In this case, our group ‘Omega’ has considered a down to top approach in the development of its communication model. This substantially eliminates the occurrence of conflicts as it cements participatory approaches in the team.