PART 4 – It’s All About That Bass, No ‘Trouble’: Problem Solving Proactively

17 Chapter 17: Resolving Group Issues

Even the best and most synergistic of teams can experience conflict at times. It happens to the best of us and it comes part and parcel of doing life together. It’s a definite challenge when you’re trying to navigate through unsavoury internal situations and even worse when you can’t get together well enough that you’re in shambles in front of your client. As you might have guessed, there are some tips here in this chapter to help you strut through these group challenges like nobody’s business.

 

Challenges and Responses

The University of Waterloo Student Success Office[1] (how great is that!) has come to save the day. They offer tips for a whole slew of sticky situations you might experience with your team:

Challenge Description Advice
Scheduling problems

 

 

 

 

 

 This can create roadblocks to getting started/continuing with projects. It is frustrating for students who feel that others aren’t compromising and don’t take their situation into consideration.

 

 
  • Try and be understanding of others’ schedules and responsibilities which may be different from your own
  • Consider using virtual meeting spaces such as messenger chats, Skype, and email to communicate
  • Take turns picking the venue and time of the meeting.
Group conflict

 

 

 

 

 Group conflict is natural and often necessary for effective projects. Sometimes though, it escalates and makes it even more difficult to focus.

 

 
  • Don’t let personal feelings impact your work in the group. Focus on the task.
  • Try and find common ground between two ideas to reach reconciliation
  • Address conflicts directly and respectfully
Uneven contribution

 

 

 

 

 

 Some group members don’t contribute to the group project or aren’t perceived to be contributing to the group.

This creates tension in the group and is unfair to the group members

 

 
  • Set up clear guidelines and work expectations at the beginning of the group project
  • Assign roles and responsibilities so that each person will be making an equal contribution
  • Speak directly, but respectfully to the person who is not completing their work
Different expectations

 

 

 

 

 

 Some members strive for perfection, while others simply want to pass. Some begin projects in advance, while others procrastinate.

This can create tension because the group is not working towards the same goal.

 
  • Early communication is key to make sure everyone is focused on common goals
  • Keep goals realistic and understand that your actions affect others in the group
  • Make a timeline so that your group can stay on an agreed plan for getting the project done
Getting stuck

 

 

 

 

 At some point groups may get ‘stuck’ and hit a mental roadblock. This is discouraging and can lead to procrastination and avoidance.

 

 

 
  • Reread project expectations and goals
  • Have a brainstorming session where ideas are discussed
  • Create a mind map to link common ideas and trains of thought
  • Seek help from your professor if you remain stuck
Groupthink

 

 

 

 

 

 ‘Groupthink’ occurs when members of a group agree with other group members in order to avoid conflict. This stifles creativity and constructive evaluation of alternative ideas.

 

 
  • Thinking critically about ideas presented, offering and assessing alternatives, and embracing diverse opinions from group members
  • Work through projects analytically using the groups’ combined knowledge and experience

 

Students tend to feel embarrassed to share the group related challenges with their course instructor. Teams often feel they should be able to figure out problems on their own and that involving someone else will just amplify the problems. As well, nobody wants to be regarded as a ‘snitch’. Believe us, these are huge misperceptions.

The role of the course instructor is to bring all members together to the group project, and make sure that everyone is accountable and committed to the group work. As real as the Capstone project is, the project is still a course project. So unfortunately, some students take advantage of that and choose not to contribute to the group work. This is completely unprofessional and disrespectful! However, students feel powerless because the project takes place in the university setting, not in a workplace. The only way in these cases to ensure a collaborative and respectful group work environment is to seek your instructor’s support.

Your instructor will, based on the information provided, take the appropriate actions. In one example, the course instructor requested a weekly meeting with the troubled group and a detailed update from each member.  The underperforming member suddenly realized that they could not hide anymore and started to allocate more time for the group work in an attempt to make a recovery. Things started to turn around simply because of the instructor’s intervention.

Hopefully, this chapter covers the whole spectrum of challenges you might face with your group, but just in case, check out Chapter 20 for additional resources on group conflict resolution.

 

  1. Student Success Office, University of Waterloo. (2018). Working Effectively in Groups. Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/student-success/sites/ca.student-success/files/uploads/files/TipSheet_GroupWork_0.pdf ↵

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ITM Capstone Survival Guide Copyright © 2018 by Quest Atkinson and Dr. Lin Dong is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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