Group Challenges

It is important to know your weaknesses (challenges) as a group, because acknowledging them is one step to improvement and will prevent you from unwanted suprises. 

Perhaps the first major challenge for us as a group, is to make our meetings more efficient. Time is a precious commodity but we don't always use it as well as it we could, and this can eat into each member's personal responsibilities. A more efficient use of time would mean a more structured approach to meetings, with a clearer agenda of what shall be covered and what targets need to be met.

Related to the efficiency of our meetings is another of the group's main challenges - listening in a more effective way. Often, we tend to talk from only our own cultural and experiential perspectives rather than giving full consideration to what the other person has in mind. Effective listening is important for reducing the likelihood of interpersonal conflict and for faster resolution of any conflicts that may emerge. It will also allow for a greater breadth of ideas to be heard when attempting to solve a problem and enable us to achieve cultural synergy.

Another challenge we face is for each individual to impart some of their knowledge and experience to the rest of the group. Likewise, any member who feels they are weak in a particular area can try to improve on this based input from their group colleagues. Honest appraisals of each member's abilities will be important to achieve this and we hope our improving communication will allow this to happen.

Finally, a hugely important challenge is for us to give our best to each task we are faced with, indivdually and collectively. This is vital if we are to strive for excellence in our academic and future professional lives.