We had an argument about the alphabet in class. Well maybe not an argument, but a negotiation and collaboration. Now you may be asking yourself, "These students are seniors in college who have written countless papers, essays, blog posts, and tweets. Shouldn't they all know and agree on the alphabet???" Do not worry- we all agree on the alphabet. However, we were not asked simply about the alphabet, but rather about which letters were used more commonly in the English language. We were given a list of 12 letters in the alphabet: H, B, T, O, J, N, D, C, E, L, W, U. (I know you are probably looking back at this paragraph to see how many times each of those letters was used, but that is a small sample size and if you are patient, you will get the correct rankings at the end of the blog post). We then worked independently to decide which letters were used more often and created a ranked list from 1-12. This was not an easy task, but it was also not too difficult; the only person you had to convince of your selected order was yourself.
Once we were confident (or as confident as one can be without any real basis of knowledge), we gathered in groups of four to create a group ranking. For some, working in a group and inserting yourself can be difficult, but since we have all known each other for a long time (it's a relatively small and tight-knit major), we were comfortable making our points and collaborating to reach the goal. Our group moved quickly through the task, compromising and flexing so that each person was heard each rank was unanimously agreed. The groups had different strategies of negotiation, some taking longer than others, but all utilizing the best strategy for their group and for their members. After a suspiciously smooth group ranking, we were then asked to rate our confidence in our group from 1-10, 10 being the highest rate of confidence and the belief that your group's ranking was the perfectly correct ranking. The answers were varied, but many people placed a high level of confidence in their group. I know that I was more confident in my group's ranking than in my individual ranking. Maybe it is because we have been indoctrinated to believe in the power of TEAM (together everyone achieves more), maybe it is because I am usually overconfident in my ability, or maybe it was because I trusted my classmates. Honestly, it is probably a combination of all three. Either way, I was pretty confident in our ranking and felt like we had worked well as a team. Small teams are often easier to work with than big teams...
As you likely guessed by this point, our professor was not done making us rank and negotiate. We went from ranking in groups of 4 to ranking as a whole class. With 20 students in class, it became much more difficult to unanimously decide on ranking than in the smaller groups. Yet, we are a determined bunch of students and knew we could do it! It started out easy, with people having similar letters for the top few and bottom few ranks. But quickly, the road became a bit more rocky when we had to approach the "controversial" letters. Eventually, we were able to find a ranking upon which we all agreed. There were some debates and compromises, but overall a peaceful and productive process. I was genuinely surprise by how smooth the process was by which we came to the agreement- I was suspicious of how easy it was because group projects can often be riddled with disagreement and can last longer than needed. As we reflected on the experience, it began to make sense why this activity went the way it did for our class.
For some context, let me just explain to y'all that we are not a business class, but rather a Human Services class. Over the past four years, we have complete classwork in counselling, working with groups and communities, and other basic social work curriculum. Most of us want to go into the helping profession and many want to become counselors, social workers, therapists, and a whole range of direct contact client-driven services. We LIKE to compromise. We LIKE to help. We LIKE to collaborate to create a better final product. Yet, with all groups we have a wide range of personalities: "Compromisers" who work to find a solution that benefits both parties, "Peacekeepers" who are willing to sacrifice to preserve the order and peace of the group, "Advocates" who make sure that everyone has a change to have their voice and opinion heard, and "Bulldozers" who will often dominate a conversation or argument and may need a gentle reminder to listen to the opinions of others (I don't mean this in a mean way, I am a Bulldozer myself.)
However, as a Bulldozer it was important that I was surrounded by Compromisers, Peacekeepers, and Advocates. The Bulldozers are often the loudest people in the room and I know that I almost always think I have the right answer, so it is important that there are Advocates in the class who remind Bulldozers to listen to other voices in the room that might not be as loud. Compromisers help the team navigate the negotiation between rankings, making sure that all sides profit the same in the outcomes and are satisfied. Peacekeepers ensure that the group is cohesive and often have a high level of emotional intelligence, able to influence others (especially Bulldozers) through their calm demeanor and their obvious care for the people in the group. Each role in our team is important for the function of our team- no member is more or less important than any other. We operate like a small system of checks and balances, each person bringing strengths and areas of improvement to the group. We force each other to be the best versions of ourselves, whether that means stepping back so others can have room to speak or speaking up when you are often quiet in the background.
So yes, a room full of 21-22 year old college-educated men and women had an argument about the alphabet. But, we had an argument that was productive and sets the groundwork for how we will negotiate and discuss in the future when we have several grant proposals, all worthy of funding but not all able to receive it. Our professor took a back seat, let us function as a group, and gave us the space to develop as a team that will soon make an impact on the local community, collaborating with community partners to fund a project about which we care deeply.
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