Maybe you have heard about one Chinese philosopher’s saying – ‘三人行，必有我师’ which means that when three people are on a journey, there must be one teacher. With this in mind, there is always something to learn from your team members. Here, where the “Team Fuqua” spirit of collaboration is emphasized, this perspective will help you not only work well as part of a team but also learn more things more efficiently. That is why I always keep this perspective in my mind with any type of teamwork as it helps me to learn my teammates’ strengths and encourages better team dynamics and mutual respect.

I worked with mainly three teams at Fuqua—two for class team assignments, and one for the Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum. So here I will tell you just a few stories about what I learned from my team members.

To start with, one of my teammates was a very passionate person. With this great passion, that friend learned and grew dramatically throughout the program, also overcoming his concerns about networking. From that teammate, I learned the importance of passion.

Next, another team member was a very effective communicator, and thanks to her the team worked very collaboratively and built a good team dynamic. I learned how to communicate very effectively and positively from her.

Last but not least, another team member was very busy with his athletic schedule but always managed all tasks very well. He scheduled and worked with great preparedness which was one of his strengths. From that teammate, I learned time-management skills with good preparedness.

All teams are also very diverse in terms of the students’ nationality and overall background. Therefore, I learned how to interact and work with teammates who have different sets of strengths which taught me various lessons. Teamwork was also tough at times. Still, with the difficulties of teamwork, I learned how to deal with conflicts and challenges and how to manage time effectively with all the different schedules of team members.

These short anecdotes are just a small part of my experience with Team Fuqua. With all the learning experiences and different types of lessons I have had, I am now confident and adept when working on a team. And that is one of the most important skills to possess for work and life.