*i* in TEAM

Being in a team that is everything but a team is utterly frustrating. The team I work with on a day to day basis have a lot of conflicts and we fight a lot, but when things need to get done, we get them done. Our team is very much like a family. We have family dynamics within the team and the disagreements and fights are just part of our family life. So, regardless of whether or not we are always a happy team, we are a productive team.

I am part of another team which has made me very despondent. I was nominated by my line managers to take part in a programme for 'Young Achievers'. We attend a workshop once a month. The content of the courses are industry related and often veer towards the engineering aspect and architecture of the physical network. We have also touched on processes and finance over and above services and basic GSM.

The course content has been tough and we have been given individual assignments to complete. I have done very well on all the individual assignments and pride myself on not having copied from anyone else at the last minute as most have. I have tried my best to complete all the assignments competently.

The company is investing a lot of money in this group of people, working in conjunction with motivational speakers and flying professors from an university around to our different regions to lecture us. We have been divided into groups and been asked to come up with a new product or an enhancement to a product that is currently available. It doesn't necessarily need to have anything to do with our company, but everyone seems to be veering into that direction since the company is our main focus. Bear in mind that whilst being employed here we remain the intellectual property of the company. Yes, they are sneaky. Very sneaky indeed.

The team I have been assigned to has come up with an idea and has started with a business proposal. We were graded 75% for the initial proposal and have handed in 1 progress report. There are probably 3 out of 10 team members who have made an effort and contributed to this project. It is impossible to get the team together to meet. When meetings are scheduled well in advance nobody shows up. We currently have two members on maternity leave (one of which we've never seen, the other has contributed a great deal).

I don't think that our main project is going to be as good as it could be. I think the work we manage to slap together at the last minute is sub standard. I resent the fact that I will be graded based on the contribution of 3 people as opposed to the contribution of 10.

This is the first year that the programme has been run and it is yet undecided how the programme will be accredited. I hope that the accreditation will endure beyond this company though. The programme should be over in June this year. I hope my team pulls together before then.