Capstone Sa

What?

 

Collaboration is a group value which emphasizes the importance of a group’s work towards a common goal. Collaboration is very important as it critically influences the overall esteem of the group by promoting trust, cooperation, and creativity. Furthermore, collaboration incentivizes team members to work on specific tasks instead of on the entire project which allows them to focus their energy, creativity, and effort into smaller sections of the ultimate objective; thus, producing better quality work.

 

I learned the meaning of collaboration especially through living in the Residential Leadership Community, the RLC, during my freshman year. The transition from high school to college was certainly a critical one and I did not prepare for the intense competition I found within first year students in my major. However, through living in the RLC, I was able to find other leaders with whom I could divide small tasks such as the chores we had to do at the dorms, for example, and that made me feel like I could approach my peers in my major that same way to foster their trust and collaboration as I had learned through simple day to day examples in the RLC.

 

So What?

 

Leaders cannot be successful by attempting to complete all the work in every area they are passionate about by themselves. It is important, therefore, that a clear and fair distribution of work be accomplished such that leaders and followers can better dedicate their time, ability, and energy to the tasks they are more gifted at. Furthermore, collaboration is an important social change value because it promotes trust which leads people to collaborate even more.

 

Collaboration is also very significant to any leadership work in the sense that it promotes an atmosphere of mutual support. Both leaders and followers work in groups for the welfare of all and the accomplishment of a common goal; thus, it is important for both parties to feel valued, to have opportunities to grow and develop, for example, which is influenced by the level of collaboration of a team or group.

 

Now What?

 

As I finish my undergraduate studies and complete this minor, I will engage in more and more professional groups alongside with the other groups I am already a part of. My main goal as far as my leadership roles in both the old and new relationships is that I am able to collaborate with my peers by giving my best intellectually, culturally, and creatively such that they can too focus their time and efforts in being the best they can be.

 

I will also carry the group value of collaboration to my endeavors as a citizen, as I have thus far. It is very important to me to be a part of the society I live in and to contribute by giving back; as such, I plan on collaborating with my peers by providing services in my area of expertise to the best of my abilities and to make room for others who might be able to help when I’m not fully capable at a task. In other words, as a leader, I plan to collaborate with others such that the focus can remain on the main task, the common goal, instead of in interpersonal disputes.