Team Roles
This team member is always tracking the due dates, checking the rubric, and making sure everyone turns their part in on time.
What is the Project Manager (or Coordinator / Organizer)?
You realize the night before that you can’t finish your part of the project; this is who you should text immediately.
Who are your teammates (or group)?
Texts often sound ruder than intended because written messages completely lack facial expressions and this vocal quality.
What is tone of voice?
Telling a partner their draft is "totally fine" when you see obvious mistakes is unhelpful because it robs them of a chance to do this.
What is improve (or fix it / get a better grade)?
In a majority vote, you only need this percentage of votes to win, even if the other half is unhappy.
What is 51% (or more than half)?
By constantly questioning underlying assumptions and asking "What happens if this fails?", this essential team contributor keeps the group from falling victim to blind optimism.
What is the Devil’s Advocate (or Skeptic)?
If your roommate or classmate is doing something that constantly bothers you, this method of talking is much better than sending an angry text.
What is talking in person (or face-to-face)?
If you can't respond to a group message right away, sending a quick reply saying when you will respond is better than doing this.
What is ghosting (or leaving them on read)?
Instead of telling someone "This slide looks terrible," good critique focuses on the work and suggests this.
What is a way to fix it (or a specific change / suggestion)?
Unlike a simple vote, this type of agreement means every single person in the group talks it out until everyone can get behind the plan.
What is a consensus?
This person notices when someone is being talked over and says, "Wait, let's hear what they were saying."
What is the Facilitator (or Peacemaker / Anchor)?
When two people are arguing about which idea is better, reminding everyone of this common thing can help stop the fight.
What is the shared goal (or purpose / getting an A)?
Saying "I don't care, whatever you want" when someone asks for your opinion forces everyone else to do this for you.
What is make the decision?
If a teammate gives you feedback that hurts your feelings, taking a deep breath and asking for this helps you understand their point without arguing.
What is a specific example of how I can fix this mistake?
When a group immediately agrees with the very first idea because nobody wants to start an argument, they are falling into this trap.
What is Groupthink?
While other teammates worry about schedules and rules, this person’s main role is coming up with creative concepts and out-of-the-box ideas.
What is the Brainstormer (or Ideator / Creative / Innovator)?
Doing all of the group's work by yourself just to avoid talking to people usually leads to this feeling of extreme physical and mental exhaustion.
What is burnout?
Agreeing at the start of a project on what times of day people are expected to answer messages is an example of setting these.
What are ground rules?
The most common mistake people make while someone is giving them feedback is interrupting to make one of these.
What is an excuse (or a defense / justification)?
Making an impulsive, major decision when you are exhausted, stressed, or emotionally charged usually leads to this feeling afterward.
What is regret (or buyer's remorse)?
If everyone on a team is quiet and waits for someone else to make a move, the group suffers from a lack of this.
What is initiative (or leadership)?
When you are at maximum capacity and someone asks you to take on extra work, setting this type of healthy limit protects your time without being disrespectful.
What is a boundary?
Spamming the project chat with 10 anxious messages at 2:00 AM usually spreads this negative feeling to the whole group.
What is stress (or panic / anxiety)?
Just because you didn't intend to hurt someone's feelings doesn't change the fact that your words had this.
What is an impact (or effect)?
Staying with a bad project topic just because you already wasted 10 hours working on it is called this type of "cost" fallacy.
What is the Sunk Cost Fallacy?