This is Part one of a three part series. See all other post here

Running an In-Class Creative Team Introduction

Part II – Becoming the Leader

Part III – Due Dates are Golden

 

At some point of your college career, you will be thrown into random groups for either one project or a whole semester. Chances are YOU WILL KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS OF YOUR GROUP! But that’s the beauty of all this. Just random students trying not to fail.

First, learn about these folks. Start off with names and if your school has multiple modules, find out which modules you all stand in. Hopefully you find out that your team is diverse in skill sets. For example one person can be a designer, copywriter, web designer, and a photographer. In the likely event your group isn’t so obviously diverse, ask and learn about each persons strengths and weaknesses. Play to their strengths. The easier it is for them, the smoother things will go.

Ask them for their experience. Experience in the field and in school. Some students have taken more advanced classes than others. Try to gauge each others levels of skills.

Make sure you all keep in contact. Luckily for us, we live in an era of convenient technology. Swap ALL contact information with each other. I mean everything…, but your social security numbers of course. Create an online server that holds all of your work so you all can conveniently exchange files, such as Google Drive and DropBox. Add one another on social media sites, especially Facebook. Create a private group page for only your group and yourself to see and post. In my opinion, the Facebook page is the most useful tool. Not only can you post unlimited amount of things, you can quickly share information, view it, and respond from a mobile device.

You may all be in it together for the long haul. Build great relationships with one another. Put all personal disputes aside. If you find yourself or others bickering on a personal level, remember you all share one common goal.

Do Not fail.