Reflections on Teamwork

by Christen Jones

Journal Prompt

“Sunday’s activities introduced themes of teamwork - how to identify leadership, distribute roles, enact perseverance and flexibility, and employ encouragement in order to “win” no matter the circumstance. What did you learn about yourself from those exercises? Can you identify some roles that you are gifted in, when working on a team?”

My Thoughts

I learned to realize my role in a situation, to know what I am good at and what I am not. Playing volleyball as a team also taught me when I need to step aside and let others with more experience lead. When they ask questions or want feedback, I can speak and voice my concerns. 

The way to be an effective team is knowing when to step aside and be a support to your teammate who is leading in the moment. Another big lesson was communication. When we would have 8 people on the volleyball court, it would be necessary to increase our communication, which was a challenge. I don’t think we did this well and this was the reason we didn’t win. We were not very organized because 2-3 people would go for the ball at one time and it became chaotic. But it was definitely something that we could all identify and work on! 

One of the roles I knew I was good in was as a defensive player. I would be best in the back where I can talk to my team and help set them up in a way where we could get 3 touches on the ball and send it back over. 

I also know that I am a good encourager so I would often try to pump up my team whenever I could. Something awesome I noted was that Liz, who is already awesome at volleyball, was constantly giving helpful coaching to all of us. Every time someone did something — good or bad — she would go to them and say something like “good touch” or “way to be there” etc. It was really awesome and I admired that.