What is going on here ?
Let's start on the right feet !
Who's behind the screen ?
First things first let's break the ice and introduce myself:
My name is Elise JORDAN
I am currently a Master student specialized in Human Resources. The one and only master I really felt like taking at IESEG.
I am French but can't stop moving. From Paris to Toronto, Libreville to Djibouti, and soon Taiwan, I have lived in several countries and am always down to meet people from all over the globe.
Why this blog ?
Now why are we here ? As a part of my HR formation I decided to pick the Managing Teams course. I thought that the skills I would gain during this class would help me not only in my professional career but also personally.
As I chose this course I thought at all the time my group projects turned into a hazardous mash up of previously divided work parts due to bad team management : this had to stop !
This blog will specifically host 3 articles written with my brain but also my heart since they are reflective. I won't publish here sum ups of theories seen in class but rather analyze the activities we went through in order to take the most from them and improve myself for real as a manager and as a team member.
What teams did you take part of ?
Let's also be honest, I chose this class because I relate. I've been a team member for 23 years now if you think of it and I will take part in group activities for the many years to come.
This class was the perfect opportunity to optimize my team experiences thanks to a bit of theory, a lot of practice and some reflective time.
Some team I took part of really had an impact on me, the way I work and think, the way I behave in general:
This class was the perfect opportunity to optimize my team experiences thanks to a bit of theory, a lot of practice and some reflective time.
Some team I took part of really had an impact on me, the way I work and think, the way I behave in general:
- My siblings & cousins : I grew up with 2 older brothers and 7 male cousins and let me tell you something: this shapes a woman. In this team I had to prove I could take part to the rotten apple battles without crying, that I could play Action Man rather than Barbie, later that I could tag along at the nights out. This team taught me to speak up.
- My swimming team: From 6 to 16, I was a swimmer in a clubs up to a regional level. My whole life turned around swimming and I spent as much time in a pool as on the ground. Members of this club and I had a common goal : swimming the fastest we could to make our club the best. This team taught me to be supportive and receive support, to give the best of myself for the team and to hold water as a group. (Note from the author : this is NOT an on purpose joke, I swear)
- My student associations : Taking part to the associative life of my universities was a great way yo gain team experiences. At Dauphine I was part of the BDA (art association) and understood that a working team is 100% more efficient when its members share a vision. We were all here with a common passion for art and 5 of the members are still today my best friends. Reversely, I was Vice-President of TEDx IESEG last year and this was by far my biggest team experience fail. I never managed to create a real team spirit, the task-related problems of the associations had a very negative impact on the group dynamic and I still today wonder how I could have managed the situation better to improve cohesion.
- My working teams: Work experiences have always been, in my case, team experiences. Currently a Sales Associate at Minelli (shoe store) I am part of a 10 people team, lead by a manager. This experience teaches me to take responsibilities and integrate my personality to a very processed company with strict rules a little space for improvisation even at entry level jobs.
What is your dream team ?
I have very clear expectations on what kind of team I want to be part of in the future. One strong aspect of my personality is to be creative. For this reason I need to be in a team were your uniqueness and your strange ideas are seen as a strength rather than shadowed.
As mentioned before I moved a lot in my life and find myself always more challenged when in a diverse team. I guess it is for those reasons that I aim at working in an international company.
Finally my dream team will exist beyond its initial purpose. Teams are often formed for work, special activities and with a very precise goal. I hope the team I will join for my futur job will exist out of the office and be a messy productive tribe, rather than a plain, simple team.
If you put all these aspects of my dream team, you pretty much end up with :
As mentioned before I moved a lot in my life and find myself always more challenged when in a diverse team. I guess it is for those reasons that I aim at working in an international company.
Finally my dream team will exist beyond its initial purpose. Teams are often formed for work, special activities and with a very precise goal. I hope the team I will join for my futur job will exist out of the office and be a messy productive tribe, rather than a plain, simple team.
If you put all these aspects of my dream team, you pretty much end up with :
💡THE SCOOBY-GANG 💡
