Communication_and_Collaboration_Strategy

Communication and Collaboration Strategy GEN/200 August 9, 2010 Abstract Communication and Collaboration Strategy identifies different learning styles and develops strategies for effectively communicating within a group of individuals. It also identifies different personality types and develops a strategy for effective communicating with those types of personalities. Communication and Collaboration Strategy One cannot have a true team without diversity. Just like goal setting, every team needs a plan. Providing structure and guidance sets the minds of the team at rest knowing where the team will be headed. Without structure conflict is sure to arise. This type of conflict is non-productive and will affect the moral. Of course with diversity comes conflict both the good and the bad. Calling oneself a team isn’t enough. One must make the effort to find out the diversity that the team has and how the team can work together to be successful. To understand diversity one has to understand the person. For a team to be successful, they must focus on their strengths. Since everyone is of various backgrounds, every input is valuable. Knowing each other’s personality types helps strengthen the team. Personality assessments can tell people more about themselves. A personality assessment provides a bigger perspective and identifies the implications of traits that are encompassed within but have not yet analyzed. The results of such assessments could be used to help identify traits the team may be unaware of to increase self-awareness. We all have different abilities, desires, talents, likes, and dislikes, and all of these things are revealed in our unique personalities. We all have different communication styles and value structures, which can hinder communication and understanding; therefore knowing each team member’s personality type and learning style is an effective way to delegate responsibilities and effectively communicate and collaborate in teams. Understanding each member’s strengths and weaknesses and knowing each other’s way of thinking permits the maximizing of strengths and compensating for the weaknesses. If you look at the Organizer and compare it to the qualities of a Thinker they have a great deal of similarities. Both the organizer and thinker need structure and need to know what’s expected of them. They look for feedback and use it as a growth guide. They are analytical and enjoy problem solving. Since they are not spontaneous they are more than likely to stick to the plan. A team needs diversity to be successful, so the Thinker and the Organizer should also be paired with a Giver. Because of the Giver’s personality type, would bring new ideas from a new point of view to the team. A Giver is a negotiator by nature and wants openness among the team. A Giver likes to be behind the scene and would rather do the research than to be front and center of it all. They are perfect teammates because they look for groups that involve people. Givers are like our teachers of the world. They want to ensure everyone is taken care of and tend to do the job that no one else was going to do. An individual’s learning style is the mind’s particular way of taking in and processing information. Every person has area where they can do well and others have areas that they find difficult. According to Professor Howard Gardner, the way an individual learns is a unique combination of intelligences, resulting from distinctive abilities, challenges, experiences, and training. Some learning styles include verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, and interpersonal. Verbal-linguistic learning style is the ability to learn and communicate through language. An individual can learn by using methods such as listening, reading, writing, and speaking. They can remember terms easily, understand syntax and word meaning, and analyze the use of words. Logical-mathematical learning style enables one to learn through understanding logical reasoning, problem solving, and identifying patterns and sequences. These individuals have the ability to perform complex calculations, organize materials logically, and analyze information. People, who use interpersonal learning style, possess the ability to relate to others, noticing their moods, motivations, and feelings. They can learn through seeing things from another’s perspective, communicating verbally and nonverbally, cooperating within a group, creating and maintaining relationships. Using the above learning styles and intelligences can help develop a strategy for effective interpersonal and intrapersonal communication and collaboration. Verbal-linguistic intelligence can be implemented to explain, teach, and understand syntax and word meaning. Using logical-mathematical learning style enables an individual or a group to organize and analyze data logically, explain materials sequentially, find patterns, develop systems, charts, and graphs. Interpersonal intelligence is helpful to create and maintain relationships and understand oneself in relation to others.