Working Alone vs as a Team
Mar 17th, 2008 by Nut
I was always the kid in school that didn’t like working in groups. I liked doing things my way and I liked getting them done on my own. And even today I still do: part of my always feels like my way is the best way and so why have anyone else’s opinion in there getting in the way of what I want to do?
This blog is an excellent example: I get to control every detail as I see fit. But there are times, obviously, when working with someone else can make the project better. After all, I don’t know everything about everything (though sometimes I forget and think I do). For example, I’m thinking of starting a new blog with a friend of mine and that means all the blog decisions I’ve been making on “The Writer’s Coin” will now have to be made by my friend and myself.
So I’ve been thinking about this and I’ve realized that working in a group (or even with just one more person) has some advantages over working alone:
- Seeing the trees in the forest: When you work alone it’s very hard to get feedback to know if you’re achieving your goals. Does this strategy actually do what it was meant to? If you’re by yourself, you might think so but it might not be the case. A little perspective can be a beautiful thing.
- Two heads are better than one: This one is obvious but easy to forget. Sure, you lose some creative say in the specific direction you want to go, but you also get double the ideas and together you can choose the best ones and discard the crappy ones that, alone, you might’ve thought, “Hey that’s not bad.”
- Less work: Now you have more people doing the work. It might mean that there will be more work to do, but doing it side-by-side with someone else helps. If one of you gets “blog fatigue” or goes on vacation, it’s much easier to arrange ways to keep the project going without having to work so much ahead of time.
One the flip side, there are some things about working alone that I really do like:
- I’m in control: I get to decide what goes, what to write about, when to do it, etc. If I want to radically change something, then I can do it. No one can veto me and I don’t have to run it by anyone.
- It’s my baby: Everything I do is mine. It’s my blog, my writing—it’s something I did. It may sound selfish, but it’s important to have something that’s purely your own to keep the ego happy.
In the end, I’m really looking forward to starting the new blog because it will give me a chance to write about something I’m very passionate about in a “team” setting. The other person writing is a good friend of mine and I don’t foresee any problems.
Now I just have to figure out when I’m going to write for it.
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hey nut, i’ve read your blog. actually now i have done some research that work alone is better than work as a team. in your blog i think your point in work alone is not enough and the points in the work as a team’re many and to me i don’t like the way you think. i like to work alone because i want all my work look perfect and i don’t think that i need anyone opinion. to me work alone make my work much better and i think this is the only way to make me happy with my job. what do you think about that. i have a very bad experience. when i have to work as a team all idea is from me and my team just do nothing it’s so annoying and this not only bad thing to me but it’s also bad thing to my team, because i just make them the stupid person in the world and the they act also make them the dumb person in the world . why i said like that because the just copy and accept my ideas that make they lazy to think and lazy to be more creative . that why i don’t want to work as a team..
that all nut nice to meet you.
Sounds like you’ve had some bad experiences when working as a team. I wouldn’t let that stop you from trying it again. Yeah, a lot of times working with another person can be a hassle. But sometimes that’s the best way to get the work done.
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Hi. I’m thinking about writing a lot lately. The big reason for me wanting to write is so I can work alone. I don’t like working with other people. I’m very shy and very afraid about what people think of me if I make a mistake. I love the idea of writing. Of course the other reason I want to be a writer is I think I’d be good at it.