Working Alone vs as a Team
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 me always feels like my way is the best way and so why have anyone else’s opinion 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.
I recently read From Worst to First and it was a great story of an airline making a historic comeback—all thanks to great teamwork. So there is something to be said about working well as a team.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
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.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:04 am
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.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[...] and like I’m neglecting my fiction. Plus me and a friend of mine are talking about starting a joint blog, so I need to figure out a way to make my time more efficient. This book seemed like a perfect [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 8:48 pm
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.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:45 am
hi! Im aze… I read your blog so I am willing to comment about that your blog. For me I want working alone because sometimes the more larger group is the more inconsistent,irresponsible team instead of being consistent and responsible team.But I know that working with a team is important to improve my/our intrapersonal communication.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Nurul,
If you are so obsessed with perfection, but you don’t want anyone’s opinion or feedback, then I would recommend you invest in a spelling and grammar checker. You seem to counter your own point well.
Many people have negative group experiences in academia. It definitely left me with a bad impression. The real world tends to not lend itself well to the Lone Ranger approach. I have found that groups almost always produce more than the net sum of all the individuals.
-Glenn
December 19th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
I think the “alone” vs. “team” discussion is marooned! Being able to share goals with others, engage in healthy conflict or dissent, concede to others or the group on occasion, argue effectively in a respectful manner, and so on are characteristics any mature worker needs. Unless your plan is to write poetry in an attic and have someone else publish it upon your demise, you need to get along with people.
That is completely different from the dimension that independent people often complain about. Some of us simply like to engage in our work PROCESS on a solitary basis rather than on a social basis. For instance, I was recently the named editor on a team that was writing a paper. I could have done the work and produced an excellent product by talking for 20 minutes or so with each author, then having maybe one group meeting, and then getting copy from the authors to work with text not people.
I got absolutely no value from TALKING about WRITING. The “team player” notion, in this context, was really about the authors being individuals who get bored sitting alone and facing the blank page. So, they turned a solitary task — drafting — into a social task — conversing about the ideas to be contained in the paper.
I do not consider myself “a team player” because I am essentially solitary. I want to set objectives or get questions answered, then shut the door and roll up my sleeves. I find it dishonest that individuals who simply need a lot of social contact (from the captive audience of their work peers) pass this off as a value (e.g., “two heads are better than one.”) There’s nothing about having two heads on a project that requires the two heads be in the same room at the same time having an interaction with one another for hours straight!
December 19th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
@Barbara: I’m kind of in your camp, but there are so many instances where you simply have to do this kind of interaction. Be it because you can’t do the whole thing on your own or because you need the other perspectives to get it done.
It’s a touch balance, but sometimes that’s what’s called for.