The Balancing Act

A good team works not when the strengths of the group members match but when one member’s strengths compensate for the other’s weakness and vice versa. That is truly the building block of a well-balanced team which has a great chance for success.

My partner for group projects and I also have a similar kind of balance going on between us. Analysing his strengths as opposed to mine and his weaknesses as opposed to mine has helped me gauge just how well we work together when we are able to use our differences to our advantage.

He is a good listener and is also very obedient. I tend to be a little bossy at times and like having a firm grip over the group’s ongoing. Hence, we tend balance each other out in this way. I plan, he follows through. I strategize, he listens, gives feedback and we move ahead. The system works well for us because we trust in each other’s strengths.

I know he is good at technical stuff that sometimes escapes me. He has the quickness that one needs while drafting last-minute documents and presentations. I, while also am able to do some technical work, am not as quick and swift in working with technology as he is.

My partner is also very patient and cooperative which completely acts as a neutralizer for my moodiness. I am a person who functions according to my mood and have very little patience. He, on the other hand, has a lot of it and is quite even-tempered.

However there are times when we are at cross-roads and find it difficult to navigate situations. My partner tends to be very slow at decision-making. I can make quick decisions but since I am also impatient, his inability to think quickly often irritates me. We try our best to leave the decision-making to me in such cases but I also believe that I’d rather never make a decision if not with consensus of both members.

Another weakness of his that my strengths can offset is public speaking. For someone with charisma, my partner is terribly anxious about speaking in public, a skill which I have picked up over time. So, while our professors do complain when I am the one speaking more during presentations, we have also begun to make changes whereby we divide portions to speak based on comfort and I always help him decide on what to say.

Our technique as a pair is to motivate one another in times of need. He needs a push often. I do too on many occasions especially when the panic mode in on. We were recently faced with a tough deadline where we had to continuously redo our work on a presentation. However, by doing parts that complement our individual strengths and allowing each other to critique the others’ work, we managed to get through it and submit the work successfully. Since we are friends first, our understanding of each other helps us navigate tough situations. At the end of it all, we both know we have each other’s backs no matter what.