Every collegiette will no doubt face several group assignments throughout her time in school, usually a few every semester. But no matter the subject, course, or assignment, it seems that the same characters show themselves in those long group meetings time and time again.
1. Commander in Chief
Every team needs a leader, or at least every team will have one. Sometimes the position goes to the best person to organize, and sometimes it’s a sly tactic to delegate all of their work. The commander-in-chief will often book the study rooms and put together the final copies. This player is necessary and only sometimes evil. At least you can rest assured due dates won’t be missed.
2. Busy Bumblebee
Sometimes the stars align just wrong, and you end up with an entire month’s obligations stacked up at once. All collegiettes have probably fallen into the role of the overworked at some point, and for some it’s just a chronic packed schedule. These members earnestly can’t make any regularly scheduled meetings and are the only ones suggesting an 8 a.m. Saturday morning summit. You may not get a ton of face time here, but for the most part, busy schedules are a sign of a hard worker, and you’ll probably get meticulously completed work in a 4 a.m. email from “the bee.”
3. Attendance Only
Then of course, there’s the equal and opposite member to the bee. Nodding politely to all suggestions and showing up to quietly daydream at meetings is the coaster. Is she uninspired, thinking, or sleepy? The world may never know because the attendance-only participant probably won’t speak up if you asked. At best they’re just agreeable and easy going; at worst you’ll be expecting a contribution only to find out they believe in “class time only” productivity. See also: PowerPoint clicker volunteer.
4. Backseat Editor
“But what if we go in a different direction…” What if we complete our project and move on with our lives? Constructive criticism is great, and necessary, but in these situations one can often detect a simultaneous groan when it crosses to the side of controlling. Whether its semantics, personal views, or re-hashing a solved problem, unnecessary comments are abundant, annoying, and time consuming. Try to avoid being the backseat editor.
5. Ghost
Who? Oh yeah, that person who didn’t do any work and expects you to give them a good peer evaluation.