How to lead a group project....

Have you ever been forced to work in a group? My answer to that question is both yes and no.  Personally, I used to love working with other people, until I realized how complicated it is to organize a group. Have you ever been stuck in the awkward situation where you're with your team/group and everyone is quiet and starring at each other? Just waiting for someone to start talking? Waiting for someone to "take over"? I have and it's not cute.
In the past, I would have taken the leadership role instantly when working with other people; but after a couple of projects... I felt drained and overwhelmed most of the time. I felt like I had to do all the work and the other people in the group were getting a good grade based on MY work. #unfair #peoplesuck #collegeistheworst
The thing is that my past groups/teams were lacking leadership and organization. There was no common foundation, no common goal, no structure, no direction. 

Here are some tips about leading a group project:
1. Establish group norms

• Norms don't have to be strict guidelines or restrictions. 
• A group norm can be "meeting every Tuesday from 11:00 am - 11:30 am".

2. Create roles

• Who's the editor?
• Who's the creative mind? 
• Who's printing the project?
• Who's bringing the pizza? (this is the most important role!)

3. Assign equal parts of the work/project

• Just do it. 

4. Create DEADLINES

• The deadlines you set for your group should be before the actual deadline! Give yourself and your group time to make mistakes, then go back and fix what has to be fixed. 

At the end of the day, group work is something that you can't avoid. It's very important to learn how to lead a group and also be part of a group. You will eventually be called to lead, start thinking about how you want to lead and how you don't.

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