An interesting incident at work today when a girl came over to another in her group and told her that the group didn’t need any more information and she should stop searching. This was just half an hour into their research, and it appeared to be a unilateral decision made on behalf of the other three in the group.
I suggested that they should use all the time available to gather as much material as possible and then make a group decision about what they wanted to use and whether anything was missing.
I got a blank look: did I mean that they couldn’t start their work?
No, I mean that you should all talk about it. Enthusiasm is great, but this is a team exercise.
I don’t think she understood why I was making a fuss, but at least all four got their heads together.
I can’t stand it when someone is left out and assumed that their contribution will be negligible. It’s a form of bullying so subtle that often people don’t realise that it is bullying, but believe they’re actually being kind. So subtle, but it can still cut deep.
