21 How to Build a Strong Team
Cascadia College COLL101 Team
Click the Speaker Icon below to listen to this chapter [15:54].
Introduction: Why Do Some Group’s Succeed?
Take a moment and think of a group project you’ve completed that went well. Maybe it was a class assignment, a volunteer event, a sports team, or even a group at work.
What do you remember about that group?
- How did you and your teammates organize the work?
- How did you communicate?
- How did you handle problems that came up?
Chances are, your team used some key strategies, whether you realized it or not! High-performing groups share common traits. these teams communicate effectively, hold each other accountable, provide support, and balance both task completion and group maintenance.
The good news? These are skills anyone can develop. Whether you’ve had great group experiences or struggled with groups in the past, the strategies in this chapter can help your team succeed.
Traits of Successful Groups
Remember that group project you thought of at the start of this chapter? The one that went well? Chances are, whether you realized it or not your group used some of all of the five traits that researchers have identified in high-performing teams.
Over decades of studying teamwork in classrooms and workplaces, researchers, like Felder and Brent (2016) have identified five key characteristics that successful teams share.[1] These aren’t just theories; they’re practical habits you can built into any group project.
| Trait | What it Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Interdependence | Group members rely on each other to succeed. Everyone’s contribution matters. | A science team assigns each member to a critical experiment task. The project can’t be completed unless everyone participates. |
| Individual Accountability | Each member is responsible for their own work and meeting deadlines. | A team agrees that each person will update he shared document and check in with each other to confirm progress. |
| Repeated Interaction | The group meets and communicates regularly to share updates, give feedback, and adjust plans. | A marketing group holds weekly check-ins to review progress and solve problems together. |
| Development of Interpersonal Skills | Team members communicate clearly, listen actively, and resolve conflicts respectfully. | When two ideas clash, the team discusses pros and cons rather than ignoring the disagreement. |
| Self-Assessment | The group reflects on what’s working (and what’s not) and makes changes. | Midway through the project, the team holds a brief meeting to identify obstacles and adjust roles if needed. |
When groups adopt these five traits, they’re more likely to:
- Complete tasks successfully and on time
- Maintain positive relationships, even when disagreements arise
- Achieve higher academic performance and report greater satisfaction with the group experience
Quick Reflection:
Which of these five traits did your positive group experience contain? Which trait would you like to be sure to use in your next group project?
Building Group Culture
Start Strong: Building your Group Culture
High performing groups succeed because they pay attention to two things:
-
- The task (what you’re trying to accomplish)
- The group itself (how you work together)
In other words, the best teams focus on both getting the work done and building positive relationships.
Simple Steps to Build a Positive Group Culture
- Get to know your teammates
- Learn names and share a bit about yourselves
- Ask: What are you most excited for this project? What’s one strength you bring to the project?
- Set expectations together
- Discuss how often you’ll meet or check in
- Agree on how you’ll communicate (text, email, another platform like Discord)
- Decide how to handle missed deadlines or no-shows
- Create ground rules
- Keep it simple: “communicate early if you have a problem,” “everyone contributes,” etc.
- Make a list so everyone remembers
- Schedule regular check-ins
- Block out your group meeting times
- Even short updates help prevent last-minute surprises
Working Together in Online Classes
You’ll need to be even more intentional about building your group culture in an online or hybrid class. Without in-person chats or casual meetings, clear communication is essential. Communication is often slower in online classes because everyone works at different times.
💻Online Group Tips
- Pick a primary communication tool
- Agree on whether you’ll use Canvas messages, email, texting, Discord or another application
- Make sure everyone has access to the tool and feels comfortable using that method
- Establish response time expectations
- Example: “Let’s reply to group messages within 24 hours.”
- Briefly share your usual classwork schedule. “I usually do homework in the evenings,” or “I work mornings and check messages after 3pm.”
- This helps your group understand each other’s work rhythms and helps avoid frustration when someone doesn’t reply right away.
- Schedule virtual check-ins
- You’re not required to have synchronous meetings in an online class, but even a brief 10-minute check-in can improve accountability and prevent misunderstandings.
- If you can’t meet as a group, try to coordinate a time where everyone is available to message or work collaboratively on a document. That way you can ask questions and share feedback right away.
- Document your agreements
- Keep a shared Google Doc or Canvas discussion post summarizing your groups expectations and task assignments.
Group Roles (And Why they Matter)
Defining roles and tasks for a project helps the project stay on track and get completed. If your group doesn’t talk about who’s doing what, people make assumptions and that’s where things start to fall apart. Oftentimes in this situation, one person ends up doing most of the work.
While you don’t have to hand out formal job titles, you should make a clear plan for who’s doing what and how you’ll work together.
The table below highlights a few common roles in groups. Keep in mind this list is not exhaustive!
| Role | What They Do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Organizer | Helps keep track of what needs to get done and when | “Hey, let’s make a quick timeline so we’re not rushing the night before!” |
| Facilitator | Guides groups discussions and prompts group members to participate. | “Safiya, what do you think about the presentation format?” |
| Researcher | Gathers information on a topic and shares it with the group. In large projects multiple people may complete this task. | “I’ll dig into the sources and drop summaries into our doc tonight.” |
| Supporter | Checks in, keeps morale up and makes sure that no one is left out. | “I know you’ve got work this week, Aditya, want me to take notes this time and you do it next time?” |
| Editor | Reviews everything and keeps an eye on quality and detail. | “Can I look this over before we turn it in, I want to make sure we answered everything and caught grammar mistakes!” |
💡Tip: Most students shift between these roles depending on the week, the workload, and where they are in the project. That’s normal!
Dividing the Work: What Needs to Get Done?
Instead of assigning roles, assign tasks.
Try this simple group process:
- List everything that needs to be done
- Example: Research, outline, slides, script, proofreading, submission
- Let people volunteer
- Ask: “What part do you want to take on?”
- If multiple people want to work on the same part, ask if they’re willing to work together.
- Write it down
- Use a shared doc or group chat to list who’s doing what, and the timeline of when they’ll get it done
Do We Need a Group Leader?
Not necessarily! Some groups work best with one person keeping everything organized. Other groups prefer to share leadership depending on the task, week, or deadline.
Here are a few ways your group can approach it:
- Single Leader: One person tracks the plan, reminds people of due dates, and checks in.
- Best for groups that want clear coordination.
- Rotating Lead: A different person takes the lead on each week or task.
- Great for fair workload distribution or groups with strong time management.
- Shared Leadership: Everyone takes responsibility for their own part and checks in with each other regularly.
There’s no one “right” structure. What matters is that someone is keeping things on track, and everyone knows how you’re working.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Great teams don’t wait until the end of the project to figure out what’s working. They check in early, make small adjustments, and create a space where feedback is normal, not awkward.
Why this matters:
Giving and receiving feedback isn’t about blaming people. It’s about building trust and making the project better together. If your group gets in the habit of asking “Hey, how’s this working for you?” or “What do you think about this?” early on, you’re way more likely to stay on track and stay friendly.
The short video [5:32] below was created by students for students and shares ideas for how to give and receive feedback:
Tips for Creating a Feedback Friendly Group
- Start Early
At your first meeting, talk about when you’re going to give feedback to each other. Plan for a mid-project check-in. Encourage each other to ask for feedback or ideas throughout the project. - Keep Feedback Specific and Useful
Type
Example
Positive
The way you organized the doc made it easier to follow! Can we keep using that layout?
Constructive
Hey, I noticed your slides have a lot of text, maybe we could simplify the wording or turn some of it into bullet points? That might help the audience stay focused when we present?
Supportive
I saw your section was blank, do you need help getting started?
- Ask, Don’t Assume
Invite feedback on your own part:- “Is this part clear?”
- “Did I include what we needed?”
- “Anything I should tweak?”
- Focus on the project, not the person
Use phrases like:- “Let’s adjust the plan…”
- “We could make this even stronger if…”
- “What if we tried…”
Common Pitfalls (And How to Fix Them)
Common Group Work Questions (and Answers!):
- Question: Someone in my group committed to a task and isn’t doing their work. What’s the best way to handle this?
- Try a direct message and ask if they are able to complete the task or if the group needs to reshuffle work. If your group has a group chat or email, you can message there, as well. It’s helpful to ask them to respond by a certain date/time. If they miss that deadline, you can check in with your instructor and ask for their assistance.
- It’s useful to go through the group communication first; your instructor will probably ask you if you reached out to them directly.
- In this situation, your group might need to adjust or reassign work; try to adjust the work instead of completing someone else’s entire assignment.
- Question: I am the only one doing work on this group project. How should I approach the other group members?
- This can be an awkward and frustrating situation. Navigating these situations is easier if your group has discussed the project and assigned tasks and a timeline. First, it’s important to be proactive (even if it’s frustrating) and try reaching out to your group when you first notice the problem.
- If you have a project plan like that you can send a message to the team and ask for a meeting or check-in to discuss and adjust the tasks/timeline. In your message you can highlight the tasks/timeline and that a deadline has been missed or your group is behind where you all wanted to be.
- In your message, give a deadline for a response and a call to action. You might say something like: “Hi everyone, I was just checking our planning document and we’re behind where we wanted to be at this point in the quarter. I’ve taken care of the background research and added it to the shared document, but now we need to get started on [X]. Let’s set up a quick meeting this week to talk about the project and make any changes we need to the plan. Please let me know by Thursday night [at least 24 hours away], when you can meet to talk about this.”
- Hopefully this nudge will remind them that they have responsibilities for your group’s project.
- That may not work, and if you’ve tried unsuccessfully to communicate with your group and get the project back on track, it’s time to share the situation with your instructor.
- When you contact your instructor don’t just say “my group isn’t participating,” because your instructor is likely to come back and ask you to email your group. It’s more efficient to explain the steps you’ve taken and the messages you’ve sent. That way they have the full picture in order to help you.
- Question: My group isn’t responding to my messages. What do I do?
- If you’re in an in-person class, it can be helpful to catch your group member before or after class to talk in-person. During that conversation, you can double-check that they still want to communicate on the platform with you originally agreed on. You can talk about how quickly you can respond to messages.
- If you’re in an online class, this can be more challenging. If your group isn’t responding to messages try sending an email or Canvas message to the group. Ask them to respond with in 24-36 hours to the message. In that message, it can be helpful to ask if there’s a different platform the group would like to use.
- If you haven’t heard anything from your group by the deadline, it might be time to check-in with your professor and ask them for help. They will be able to give you advice and help get in touch with the group.
- When you email your instructor, it’s useful to tell them what you’ve already done to talk to your group. If you don’t, this will probably be the first thing they ask.
- Question: I don’t like how my group member is doing X. How can I tell them that?
- This is a great question! The first thing you should think about is whether or not feedback is needed.
- Sometimes we get frustrated because someone does something differently than us, but after reflection they aren’t doing anything incorrectly. In these situations, you can ask the group mate if they are open to feedback about their process and respect them if they say no.
- For example, you might prefer to use a citation generator to create first drafts of your references and your groupmate is spending time creating the citations by hand using OWL Purdue. You can ask them if they want to learn about how to use a citation generator, but if they say no (and their citation process isn’t causing other issues), you should let it go.
- Other times, you may disagree with something substantial in the group project. This might be the sources you’re using, the argument, presentation, etc. In this case, its appropriate for you to say something. In addition to checking out the feedback section above, here are some tips for negotiating this situation:
- Keep your feedback focused on the project and not the person.
- If the group member is deviating from your original plan, remind them of the original plan and ask them why they decided to do something differently. “When we last talked, we decided to do [X] and I noticed in the shared document that you decided to do [Y], we can definitely make adjustments, but can you explain why you made this change?”
- If the group member is jumping ahead and making decisions without the group you might ask them to slow down and check with the group. “We decided to talk before creating the slide design for the project, can we have a conversation about what we all want it to look like before we keep going?”
- Sometimes a group member is including incorrect information. In this case, you might politely highlight the error and either ask them if they want help fact checking or see if they are planning on fact-checking the issue.
- Side note: some errors aren’t worth highlighting to the group mate. For example, if I notice a few typos or citation errors, I’m likely to just fix them and not mention it. But, if I’m seeing a lot of errors or I’m concerned that information isn’t accurate, I’m more likely to say something. “I noticed a lot of grammatical errors throughout the document. I’m not sure of your usual writing style, do you normally check spelling and grammar at the end of the project or as you’re going? I’m happy to help read through your sections (and you can read through mine) to help make sure the project is accurate.”
Looking Ahead
Group work doesn’t have to be perfect to be successful. You’ve now got the tools to communicate clearly, divide work fairly, handle issues early, and support your team. In the next chapter, you’ll reflect on how your own group worked this quarter, what went well, what could’ve gone smoother, and what you’d do differently next time. Real teamwork isn’t just about finishing a project. It’s about learning how to work with all kinds of people and learning something about yourself in the process.
- Felder, Richard M. and Brent, Rebecca. “Cooperative Learning.” Active learning: Models from the analytical sciences, edited by P.A. Mabrouk, American Chemical Society, 2007, 34-53, http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/CLChapter.pdf. ↵
