This week’s readings detail a scenario in industry that I’m sure almost everyone has experienced at some point—a group project where one member isn’t pulling their weight—a tale as old as time.
Observing Current Dynamics
In this case study, while Ben leaves the bulk of the work to Mark and Nisha, the majority of Ben’s slack is picked up by Nisha. One dynamic at play to explain this is that they are friends, and so he may feel more comfortable asking more from her than someone he has very little relation to.
However, the other critical dynamic that should not be overlooked is that Nisha is the sole woman in a team with two men, which leads me to wonder that if Nisha were a man, would so much slack seem to naturally fall upon her? Aiko Bethea brings up the excellent point that women are expected to be nurturers, which comes with the societal expectation that we should be hesitant to anger others or damage relationships- this may play into why Ben feels comfortable asking more of her than Mark, why Nisha seems to have a harder time setting boundaries than Mark, and why Nisha is more conflicted with giving Ben a low rating compared to Mark.
There were early red flags about Ben’s social loafing (when a team member fails to do their part), and the team did not do a good job setting expectations or establishing a precedent of consequence early on, which enabled Ben to feel comfortable continuously leaning on Nisha during his busy work period. We saw many instances where Nisha held back her thoughts and feelings when more candid conversations should have been had early-on. By setting clearer boundaries and confronting the issue directly during their first few meetings, the team could have prevented Ben from continuing to disengage.
Moving Forward
I firmly agree Nisha’s mentor- the score that should be given is the score that is deserved. Overall, I agree with Bertha as well, but I differ in her opinion that the minimum score allowed should be a 3 because she “played a role in enabling his behavior.” Although true from both team members in early meetings, Nisha told her mentor she had later on directly spoken to Ben multiple times – he was given the chance to improve, and he instead opted to continue his behavior and depend on manipulation tactics to get the score he wanted.
Moving forward, Nisha could start being more vocal about expectations from the beginning and stop covering so much for team members who fail to meet deadlines, emphasizing consequences; she could continue maintaining strong work ethics and carrying out her responsibilities, but also practice assertive communication when dealing with team dynamics.
