The first team meeting
Read Part I and Part II of our story for background information.
Everyone arrived on time for the start of the team meeting and seemed excited about what was ahead. Siraj was rather quiet during dinner, but Alice assumed it was because he was just a little shy. Mimi and Samantha were very friendly and chatted with everyone. Ali was more reserved and didn’t feel completely comfortable around everyone. Again, Alice just assumed he was a little shy and also, because he was new to the organization and to working full-time in the organization, was still figuring out where he fit in.
The sponsor was obviously excited about the project and spent quite a bit of time during dinner that first night discussing the project and how much the team would be contributing to helping the company meet its strategy. He really left the team engaged and excited about their involvement.
During the first day of meetings – on Tuesday – Alice felt that the more senior individuals on the team – Mimi and Siraj – had more much to contribute about the team and how they should work together. Mimi was much more talkative than Siraj and Alice kept prompting Siraj to contribute and share his ideas. Samantha had much to contribute based on her experience but seemed to, at times, be shot down by Mimi who, as she told Samantha, “know more about the company.” Alice frequently stepped in to ask Samantha to bring in her thoughts/ideas/best practices from past experiences.
Ali had very little to contribute given his limited experience, but Alice frequently checked in to be sure he was feeling comfortable.
The team seemed more in sync on day two and did a great job outlining how they would communicate with each other, building the schedule to work within the time allocated for the project, and overall creating the project documentation to meet the goals and objectives of the project. Even the quieter members of the team seemed to be opening up and were sharing more of their own ideas and suggestions.
Alice was getting increasingly excited about working with this team! By the end of the last day, the group really seemed to have come together as a team and were also excited about the project and the opportunity before them.
Part IV – The first team problem.
