Case study: Colleen often worked as a part of a team, but preferred to focus on her part of the final product only. She communicated with her team members as needed, but didn’t really understand what each of them did. It simply wasn’t important to her ability to finish her part of the project. When she joined the team for a new project, the team lead, Tasha, suggested that each person describe what he or she would do on the project. Colleen didn’t see the point. However, as each team member described their piece of the project and their role in the team, Colleen began to see how the project all came together to get a larger picture. She had never thought before about what had to happen before her piece could be completed, nor what had to happen afterwards. Seeing the project as a cohesive whole made her understand more clearly what the overall goal was, and knowing what each of her teammates did also helped her communicate with them more clearly.
