The Travels of the
Techno-Freedom-Fighter

The two other projects that where on offer where both off in the boons(technical term for the bush), where as my project is in a town of 3000 people. The image that is projected by what all of the YCI proper gander is that all the projects in Costa Rica where tough and we would be up in the bush with tough projects where we would be working hand in hand with all of the community working on real community development projects. Saving babies from malnutrition providing elementary heath care to sickly old people in a country ravaged by years of civil war. Ok maybe not that bad but most of the participants seem to have this idea.

The two other projects in Paulo Verde and Jualama and the one in Altamera both had that to offer to the participants. the funny thing is that Jen who is the group leader for the project in altamera. Was a real girl about all of this. She was a keen dancer and also loved to go out for coffee and hated to climb mountains. The running joke on the orientation was that the only mountain that she would climb up would be if there was a disco on top of it. Well guess what, the only disco (i.e. the only place that had a working sound system) with in the local area is an hour walk away up a big hill. So I guess that you have to be careful what you ask for as you just might get it!

The funny thing about my project is that it is not at all like that. I mean would really like to have a project where I was out in the boons going to a pit toilet every day and fighting the monkeys to stay out of my food. But this project is so not like that. From the start things where always going to be a little bit more Gucci than that. Already when Connie and me did the site inspection we had a table some chares and we also acquired a washing machine. The funny this is that the washing machine is own by the president of the women's group, and at the moment she is in America visiting her friends. So we have her washing machine. I will have to admit that this is not such a bad thing as I don't really like washing by hand. When the PMT(project management team) found out that we had a washing machine they where discussed with me. See most of the PMT are ex group leaders and well all good war stores things where 10 times tougher when they where on project. So if they had to wash cloths by hand for 9 weeks so should I. Frank was even going to phone the women's association to get them to take the washing machine away from us.

When I got back to the office we had the pre-departure training for the participants. There is and opportunity for the group leaders to explain to the participants what each project has to offer, then the participants get to choose what project they want to do. Well I had taken allsorts of photos of the work site and of the town. I was not allowed to show the photos to the participants or tell them that we had a washing machine until they had made their choice. By the time we where sitting at the bar having a dance, the deed had been done. And so I declared to every one that was there that we had a washing machine, much to the discuss of the people that had not chosen my project.

Once we where on project then the things started to get a little more Gucci (technical term for stuff that is a little posh / snobby). The ladies from the women's association really try to look after us; they bring all sorts of things that make life a little more bearable. They come with fruit and milk and other things… ok so after 2 days we had got a CD player donated to us which is ok I guess. To have a bit of music around the place is kind of nice. Well then things got worse?? … Well we scored an industrial refrigerator … it is meant for the Soda but hey that is not built yet, and well it makes it easy to keep the beer cool. Then last night the ladies turned up with a TV set.

We have decided to call the house 'Club Arenal'. We thought that if you cant beat it embrace it. I mean if the PMT are going to be discussed with us we may as well make it worth it. So we have been making plans to make things better that they are now and really discuss the PMT when they come up for their site inspection in week 5. we hope to have the Hot-Tub finished and the bar. So when they come in they will see a couple of us sunning ourselves in our deck chairs sipping margaritas, a few in the hot tub… "frank get in the tub… hey some one get frank a cold beer!" and we'll have Connie's dad cooking in the kitchen.

Its all to do with developing a team, my Oma always told me humans are herd animals. We naturally form teams to get things done. We recognise that the results of a cooperative team effort are greater than the total individual actions. Good teamwork can lead to increased work output, greater creativity, increased work quality and higher morale. However good teamwork doesn't just happen, it must be developed.

Most people think they know the meaning of ‘teamwork’, but rarely do people work well in a team without a lot of work from the team leader/s. Teamwork and team development is also influenced by group size.

I have found the best team size is 2-5 people. A team of 5-10 is workable. A team of 10-15 is difficult. The development of a cohesive team from 15 or more people is unlikely, unless the group is frequently divided into sub-groups and are participating in team building exercises. Image

The trick for the team leader is to manage the team development process, both through their choices, such as the number of people in the team, and through their leadership actions.

Team building is an on-going process that requires more from the leader than a periodic pep talk. As a team leader it is very helpful to know the stages of team development This enables you to think beyond what ‘your workers’ are doing, and think holistically about the team and it’s progress. In building your team, the team leader’s role is to assist group members to advance to the next stage of their development.

Obviously, not all teams will fall into the neat categories listed below. Also keep in mind that these stages do not always work in order and some stages are not always fully realized. Phases of team development can also be repeated depending on the dynamics of the team, the length of time together and the situations that arise.