This essay will handle about my team and also I’ll handle roles that I have seen in our team shortly.

My team has very different backgrounds – meaning that we have people from Sri Lanka, Finland, Philippines, Austria, Latvia, Morocco etc. Diversity in the workplace/team has become a hot topic in recent years, and for good reason. A diverse team brings a variety of perspectives, experiences, and ideas to the table, which can lead to better decision-making, increased innovation, and a more positive work environment.

Having team members from different backgrounds can lead to a wider range of ideas and perspectives, but it also brings more difficulties like time management – behavior difference – and different perspective of money value for example. When individuals with different backgrounds and experiences come together to solve a problem or complete a project, they have more knowledge to generate new and innovative solutions. For example, a team composed of members from different cultural backgrounds may bring fresh insights and ideas when working on a project that involves marketing to a particular demographic – and in Crevio you can clearly see that. A team with members from different professional backgrounds can also be beneficial, as each individual brings their own skills to the table.

Many of Crevio’s team members are included “innovating” group, which is good of course, but also more work to people who do the real work to get things forward more concretely. It also gathers more pointless responsibility to leaders when they have to focus things, that should happen without their contribution.

In Crevio’s team you can also notice people who don’t put their best effort for the team, when they see that everyone else will do their job for them or they think that their small contribution is not enough and that’s why they don’t bring it on the table. And this kind of thinking is dangerous for the team and for the individual by themselves, because then they live in this imagination world where they don’t have to do anything, but they think that they’re doing when in the same time the picture for other team members is that they’re only freeloading and they won’t do nothing. And that creates extra tension inside the team, if no one doesn’t say anything and step in. Luckily, Crevio team has couple persons who are not afraid to talk directly which prevent that kind of freeloading without consequences.

However, while a diverse team can bring many benefits, it is important to notice that diversity alone is not enough. It is also important to create an inclusive work environment that values and celebrates the differences between team members. In order to do this, it is important to have open communication and respect between team members, and to ensure that everyone feels valued and included in the team. Creating opportunities for team members to share their experiences and perspectives and ensuring that all team members have equal access to resources and opportunities is very important part to focus on.

Then we have those silent workers, who will do their job well with good attitude when you ask them to do. Those are one of the key things that a successful team has and without them, it would be disaster. For an example, if everybody wants to only create and innovate and not do the concrete things, then nothing will happen. I think that those silent people who works when you just ask owns a little price being a silent MVP. They don’t put themselves on the light and quite often ask to thank you from others. I think that Proakatemia’s atmosphere is dangerous for people who wants to learn leadership skills, but own characteristics to be silent hard worker, because the normal bases are that everyone has to participate with sayings things loud and the atmosphere is more like – “be outgoing or go home”. Like Aki Ahlroth said in his article that the silent hard worker is also a repulsive creature in the sense that his real importance to the working community often becomes apparent only after changing jobs. (Alhroth 2022)

Those are the main the main roles that you can see every day.

 Then there is couple of people who knows how to lead people and what leadership is. Usually at this point of learning, those people have led other before or they’re just natural leaders and the leadership is built in their DNA, but they’re not born to be leader and they have still lot to learn, because leadership is learning everyday your and other behaviors and approaches. For others, the natural leaders can seem arrogant if they have not use to be led. I have heard many times that “I haven’t born to be leader; it is unfair that you know how to lead because it is in your DNA”. Yes sure, it helps you to be a leader if your characteristics are outgoing and you have naturally strong opinions together with natural leadership, but nobody born to be a good leader. Usain Bolt or Teemu Selänne are a good example, when natural talent put everything, they can into practice and works hard every day for being the best one day. By the same way, a good leader has done practice and worked hard to every day develop their leadership skills to be a better leader and that’s why they know how to value the silent hard workers more than the naturally outgoings even though they are important too. (Swanson 2023)

In conclusion, our team is in developing process where people is first time experiencing hard qualifying and competition, sometimes strong leadership (depends on which project you’re into) and finding their own slot in a team and being honest which kind of person they are. But now, we just have to be patient that everyone truly admits their roles so we can the best out of us. One thing what is going to effect in our future that where our team is heading is the next TL and BL selection, because the right choices can boost, and push team forward faster than we could imagine.

Kasperi Pitkänen

Entrepreneurship & Team leadership

Proakatemia, 2023

References:

Ahlroth, A. 2022. Hiljainen puurtaja on työyhteisön aliarvostettu kulmakivi – ”Leimataan laiskaksi, vaikka on kaikkein ahkerin”. Duunitori column.

Swanson, J. 2023. Leaders are not born; every person can develop leadership skills. Atton institute article.