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Strategies for Effective Communicating and Collaboration Communication makes the world go round. Communication is how people interact with bosses, coworkers, family, and friends. Different techniques and strategies will help communicate effectively with each of these individuals. Within any group each person will have different personality traits and learning styles. In order for a team to be successful, they need to use the best of their personality traits and learning style to come together as a team and collaborate. “A successful team beats with one heart” (HeartQuotes™).
This quote demonstrates how important it is to all come together and work as one. It is important for each team member to understand his or her strengths and weaknesses; therefore, as an individual one can offer the most he or she can give and address the weaknesses for improvement. As a team member, completing certain tasks together is the goal. “The first step toward that goal is pinpointing what those strengths and weaknesses are—and that’s what learning styles assessments will help you discover” (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007).
A person’s learning style is how his or her mind takes in information and processes it (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007). Every person does this differently. Some examples of different learning styles are Verbal-Linguistic, Bodily Kinesthetic, and Visual-Spatial. If he or she learns better through reading, writing, listening, and speaking their best learning style would be Verbal-Linguistic (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits. 2007). Developing strong Verbal-Linguistic learning style techniques could help tremendously when working within a group.
In most group settings listening and discussion are the main activities that take place. Listening and discussion can help by clearly stating instructions for their team and staying organized. If he or she learns better through working with his or her hands then his or her best learning style is Bodily-Kinesthetic. This could help motivate a team to be hands-on and make work more enjoyable. If a person’s learning style is Visual-Spatial, they learn better with charts, visual arts, or graphs. Charts and graph can be beneficial for a group because they layout the information in an organized format.
This will help others understand the information more clearly. Also this could help with keeping a team organized. Everyone learns at different paces and with different strategies. By knowing their strengths and weaknesses they will better understand how they learn. In a group this is important because everyone’s learning habits are vital to a team’s success. According to Dr. Joyce Bishop, there are four different personalities: Organizer, Giver, Adventurer, and Thinker. If a person is an Organizer he or she is efficient, responsible, and organized (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007).
This is essential in a group because it allows all resources to be available in an orderly manner. Otherwise, it may cause stress and decreased motivation. If a person is a Giver he or she is honest and like to help others (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007). This could be useful to teammates who don’t quite understand the group assignment. Givers love to teach new material and study with others. A Giver can help the team come together as one and collaborate. If a person is an Adventurer he or she is flexible and spontaneous (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007).
Adventurers like to use hands-on to learn and find exciting ways of learning new things. They also help the group stay alive and keep work fun. If a person is a Thinker he or she is good at solving problems and creativity (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007). Thinkers approach task in a different, more creative way. Although Thinkers are more prone to working independently, they can make a team dynamic. Wither a person is a Thinker, Adventurer, Giver or Organizer each is important to making a team successful. These individuals unite and form what is called a team. Working in a group can be a challenge.
With so many learning styles and personalities everyone needs to discover their strengths and weaknesses so they can better support their team. Anthony Ribbons once said, “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others. ” Communication is the most important aspect of a successful team. If each team member can understand one another’s learning habits, collaborating is a smooth process. If a team is not collaborating, they are not communicating. “Communication works for those who work at it” (John Powell).