In order to work well with other people you need to know and understand yourself and be prepared to receive honest feedback from your colleagues. The effectiveness of a team can be enhanced by a genuine openness among its members.

You are required to work in pairs with another team member – preferably one you do not know very well and if possible from a different ethnicity, culture, gender or age group – and to ask the following questions of each other.

You should both agree to honour confidentiality and to conduct the exercise as a means of providing constructive feedback.

1. For what role do you think I am most suited – and why?

2. In what ways can I contribute more to the work of the team?

3. Which member of the team do you believe I am most close to and which member most distant from?

4. What do you see as my major strengths and personal weaknesses as a member of the team?

5. What is it about me that you find most annoying?

6. In what ways could we help each other in our work?

7. How can I be a better all-round member of the team?

Discussion

After you have both completed these questions consider carefully and honestly:

■ What have you learned about yourself from this activity?

■ What response from your colleague surprised you the most?

Put this in writing as an aid to discipline and for your personal reflection.