What a whirlwind these past months has been! Contemplating about my personal takeaways, I would say that this class is perfect steppingstone before joining the workforce;
What we could have done better
- Don’t segregate group members, even if they seem incompatible in terms of personality, the magic that can be created with all hands on the table is incomparable,
- Don’t make it personal; when it comes to project management especially with teams that have been created “randomly” and for a quick period of time (in other words with low trust levels teams) there is a high chance that someone will try to make it personal. Just don’t! No one is against you,
- The feedback in order to be effective, must be very to the point; avoid general recommendations such as “make it more professional”. These notions are perceived differently especially within team members that are coming from different cultural backgrounds,
- Forget your ego; ask for advice and listen with your heart and mind fully open!
What we did successfully
- Built a strong client relationship; clients as all human beings want to be heard; try to understand their needs behind the lines
- Follow up with the client and within the team regularly; recurring meetings are a great way to achieve that
On a personal note
I understood that I can easily generate ideas, as I’m an enthusiast. But also I’m a visionary doer; If I’m passionate about something, I’ll find a way and I’ll make it happen. However, I’m not at all motivated to do admin and operational tasks, when they are not contributing to a bigger mission. However, if you give me feedback, but you still allow me to have responsibility over the deliverable, I will highly perform. I would dare to say that this class should be mandatory before graduating, as it aims to cultivate soft skills that are not be taught in the classic “safe” academic environment!
Thank you, professor, for your willingness to guide us in our first career steps. It really means a lot!! Enjoy your summer