(Day 2) 8th March - Area of Focus // On-Action Reflection

 Today was the beginning of the in-action research, working with the main team with a group reflective log which also feeds into this self-reflection log. The team began the call confused, as I also wasn't clear on the brief, requirements and live-client brief I was unable to support. Hannah lead the call as she has the most clarity and understanding of what was required. After gaining understanding from asking question to Hannah and Mersha, I felt confident to begin the work properly. It was clear I felt comfortable with Hannah leading the call as I recognised she had more knowledge which aided us well. After working comfortably with my group, we were then placed in random teams to compare findings for the live-client brief. Here I noticed my leadership skills come into place. 

After recognising that my group were quiet, I took lead on the call to encourage conversation. Although I found it slow, we eventually found a way to communicate which worked well. We then compared thoughts of the brief and confusion. As I had gained understanding I broke down the brief and explained it to the group which helped. I recognised that when feeling confident I have the ability to explain and lead groups, which I have understood previously. 

After group work, we began our individual journeys for a areas of focus for our self-reflection. From past modules and throughout my education I have learnt to understand myself and my personality. Under the Myers-Briggs theory, I am an ESFP-A (https://www.16personalities.com/esfp-personality). After reflection work for my Professional Develop Plan (PDP), I recognise teamwork can be a stressful situation, creating opportunities to understand my weakness within to help promote efficient teamwork. Here you can find my PDP and current understanding on my personality and teamwork: https://iamdesignmanagement.com/ma/imaani-bailey/. By knowing myself I know how I learn, which was apparent when trying to gage the brief, I need to talk and ask questions. Therefore the first tutorial allowed me to know my focus points for the module.

The tutorial encouraged me to focus on my weaknesses on trust and control within teamwork, which I know stems from my personality. As I know I can be quite emotional and extreme, I felt that it was a good starting point for on-action reflection on my latest experience within team client project. 

The previous live client brief was a huge learning experience as I worked with those who may not of been as motivated as me. Immediately once you notice group morale is down, the energy is reflected throughout the team and the work. During this time, I was also still new to managing project work, module assignment work and my part-time job outside of university. The lack of effort and communication within the team made a negative impact on my emotional state for the team and the work created. Understanding emotional intelligence (EQ) highlights the influence of an emotional state on teamwork. Feeling stressed and unreliable on my team members, rather than effectively communicate this, I took on the role of taking on the workload and trying to organise the team. It was apparent there was no extrinsic motivation (the work was not marked) therefore no intrinsic benefits to completing the work to a high standard, including meeting outside university hours. Because of the minimal effort and communication, my trust within the team was low and therefore I felt compelled to check the work and take on more to ensure my standards were met at least. In contrast to this, I could have been more empathic to my team members who come from different backgrounds and no experience within design management unlike myself. Therefore, with a higher emotional intelligence I could have communicated the benefits, work and requirements for effectively.