Week 7: I Can Collaborate. I Rock.

This week I was assigned the task to talk about myself and how I roll with collaboration. Well actually, I think technically that's supposed to be next week's post, but I like the idea of writing about it right now.

Obviously a big part of this project comes down to collaboration and group work. One thing I've noticed is that everyone in this seminar is really good at sitting down and discussing things. We can discuss like no other. We can lay out 40 million options. We can look at the pros and cons. This started out as a good thing, but especially in the last week or two we've noticed it's time to make decisions and quit just sitting around and talking about it.

That said, I like to think that recently my role in collaboration has been in keeping the group from getting hung up on details. Instead, I try to steer the conversation so it's focusing on the big picture. I think doing this helps keep the conversation focused and relevant.

For example, we might be trying to make a decision, but somehow the conversation has devolved into a battle between two different types of purple I try to calm everyone down, table the color conversation, and lead everyone back to what we were originally talking about. That's what I try to do, and I like to think I succeed at least some of the time.

I will say my biggest weakness in collaboration is delegating. Usually when I'm assigned to a task, especially one I would HAPPILY do by myself, I have issues delegating tasks to other people. I realize this is something I should work on, because if I don't, the last three weeks of the semester I will most likely combust from stress. Although, that would be an interesting segment for the documentary. In either case, it's my goal in the coming weeks to actually articulate all the insane ideas in my head to other people and hopefully delegate tasks to them. But, I have improved. I give other people the camera now. =)

I think Rick summed it up best though. I asked him how he thought I was at collaboration and he responded by saying that I was "swell."

Also, the above picture was taken outside the art museum. We went on a picture taking expedition, and kept taking pictures even after we left.