Ever experience a time when teamwork could have been or became more equitable? Tell us about it.

Christine P. Dela Rosa

When it comes to teamwork, there are a lot of things that can help us be included, feel seen or unseen, or be in or out of the loop. Sometimes, all it takes is one teammate communicating one thing. But when these occurrences happen on a regular basis, especially at a scalable level, it's because of something on a systemic level.

Does this make you think of anything you've experienced in the past, where there was a disparity in the ways some groups of employees took part in collaboration compared to others?

We'd like to learn about how you all have experienced inequities in teamwork, or even, experienced a more equitable approach to teamwork after a change was made. It could be a memory from the past, in a professional setting or not, within a formal group like a sports team or an informal one like a one-time volunteer experience. 

Share your story, in hopes that Teamwork Lab members can provide support or can perhaps apply your perspective to how they might be approaching teamwork today.

Amanda Barber

In my previous career as a teacher, I experienced this type of inequity regularly which I think is what ultimately pushed me to leave the career entirely rather than finding a new job. I worked in a school where each classroom was co-taught so it wasn't often visible as to who was doing the bulk of the work to keep things rolling. We were also a school where trying new and innovative approaches happened regularly, so it required effort to keep pushing forward. I tend to want things done quickly, and done "right", so I'd often take on more of the work rather than allowing my teammate to miss a deadline or fail at something. This is still something that I'm working on in my role, but it's been a bit easier since allowing failures now doesn't feel like it so heavily reflects on me, nor does it impact students directly. 

I am currently reading Crucial Conversations and wishing I had the tools from the book in my toolbox years ago to ensure that I could have had direct communication around what I was feeling - and potentially have made a positive impact on our collaboration, communication and overall friendship.