Fostering Growth in a

Team
By GRD Brendan Barry -
Goals of this Presentation

As RAs and college students, you spend a lot of time working in teams. This will
continue once you graduate.

Today, we are going to focus on three areas of team building that can be helpful:

● Icebreakers
● Collaboration on Tasks
● Open Communication
Before we start, I just have one question for you
all…….

What are the most important aspects of working in a team for each of you?
Icebreakers!!!

● Icebreakers can be a great way for people working collaboratively to

continue to get to know each other regardless of how long you have worked
together.
● On top of that, it gives teams the chance to bond over things that have
nothing to do with work.

Some examples of some good icebreakers that can be done on Zoom include:

● Name games such as who is bringing what to the picnic

● Question of the week
● Highs and lows
● What is in your space?
Icebreakers

● What other icebreakers do you all like to do to get to know your teammates?
● How do we adapt some icebreakers in the Zoom world we are currently
living in?
Just for fun, we are going to try one!

● Today, we are going to try one of my favorite opening icebreakers known as

“What are you bringing to the picnic?”
● In this activity, you are going to say your name and then you are going to say
that you are going to bring a food item that starts with the first letter of your
first name.
● Example: My name is Brendan and I am bringing blueberries to the picnic.
Collaboration on Tasks

● As RAs, you have to collaborate on a lot of different tasks whether it is

putting on a program, handling a stressful duty incident, or move-in task.
● Everyone works differently and it is important to understand how your style
mixes with someone else’s.
● It is important to communicate with the person that you are working with so
that you can work effectively together.
● It is important to look at the task at hand, make a plan of how to get it done,
and collaborate to get it done.
Collaboration on Tasks

● What is important to you when it comes to working with others?

● What are your strengths in collaboration? On the other side, where can you
improve?
● What are the most important things to do consider and do in a high stakes
situation? Think of what you should consider for a difficult situation on duty
Open Communication

● No team will ever succeed without open communication

● It is important to know who to communicate with at the appropriate time. As
RAs, you should communicate with their fellow RAs, Supervisors, and the
Area Coordinator on Duty as necessary.
● If any issue arises, it is important to communicate with the proper channel.
If it is an emergency, it is important to get help right away for example.
● As we discussed earlier, communication is crucial when working on tasks
together.
● It is also crucial in situations of conflict such as interacting with a
challenging resident or issue with a teammate on a team..
A Few Scenarios

● A resident is not being complainant with the mask wearing policy. How do
you communicate effectively with the student so that they put on their mask
while keeping a community building attitude?
● You notice that there are some issues with the duty phone, who should you
inform and what should you tell that person?
● You are assigned to work on a program with ana RA that you have never
worked with, what would you say to open up the conversation and approach
the work? Hint: combine the collaboration and communication sections of
this presentation.
Any Questions?