TLA Launch: Week 3

This week during TLA Launch, we discussed teamwork and collaboration. Again, because I started at SwRI during the work-from-home orders, I have not had many "traditional" teamwork interactions. However, as far as "team" projects go, I think my co-worker and I did great work on the Famous Mathematicians virtual exhibit. Because we each had our own bullet points to work on, it was easy to work separately, then come together to put our two halves to make a whole. 

However, as far as the TLA discussion goes, I had to resort to past work experiences to find common ground. The TLA team put us into breakout rooms by library type. I ended up with the Academic & Special librarians. The first quality on our list of what makes a high-functioning team was open communication. Someone in the group also came up with the term "compassionate professionalism" which was described as having empathy for co-workers but maintaining professional boundaries. A lot of librarians in the group-at-large liked the term. 

You can't talk about what makes a high-functioning team without talking about dysfunctional teams. We spent some time in breakout groups to discuss the different aspects of dysfunction we've experienced at work. Though everyone has experienced the negative team qualities before, because of the current situation the listed traits are now presenting themselves differently. Some felt that COVID has created more meetings just to meet. These meetings are labeled as check-ins to ensure that people are on-track, doing their jobs, and being held accountable but usually, nothing productive comes out of the meeting. Again, I too have lived through many of the negative team traits listed but I haven't encountered them at SwRI.