Barbara Oakley’s (2004) article “Coping with hitchhikers and couch potatoes on teams” perfectly describes the types of workers that can be often found in teams. Anyone who has worked in teams can find descriptions that resonate with them because the author captures interesting details that are hard to argue. The first passage that sounded very familiar is “Jack has never answered phone messages. When you confront him, he denies getting any messages. You e-mail him, but he’s “too busy to answer” (Oakley, 2004, para. 5). Avoidant team members who do not want to communicate with others have always been a problem because they are unapproachable even when their assistance is needed. This resonated with me because I encountered a classmate during our team assignments who did not want to communicate and just handed in his part of the assignment without answering our concerns. This can be solved by establishing communication expectations from the beginning and stating that those ignoring their teammates will not have the opportunity to present their part of the work.
The second passage that resonated with me is “Jack constantly complains about his fifty-hour workweeks, heavy school load, bad textbooks, and terrible teachers. At first, you felt sorry for him – but recently you’ve begun to wonder if Jack is using you” (Oakley, 2004, para. 8). I have had a similar classmate who always asked for help with assignments because I was doing them anyway and had free time. However, I then discovered that the classmate was just spending time with his friends and not being at work, so I stopped helping him. In the future, I will remind such people that they are the only ones who can handle their problems. Even if they have less free time, they should prioritize work and then leisure and manage their schedules themselves. It is important not to fall for manipulation as it can hurt teamwork in general.
Reference
Oakley, B. (2004). Coping with hitchhikers and couch potatoes on teams.