Vianka villota reflection

 I originally heard of this project and didn't give it too much attention. I figured it would be the usual group presentation—quick slides, individuals reading them out loud with little gusto, and just trying to get done as quickly as possible. However, to my astonishment, it was very different. They really did put effort into it, and I found myself really thinking about the content after that. The topics—intercultural communication, group dynamics, and leadership—are so true more than I expected. Group work usually is all about getting the job done, but this one impacted me. It actually made me think about how I communicate and work with people.

Chapter 3 

Of everything in Chapter 3, the most impressive to me was the way easily a misunderstanding can be had because people are different cultures. I never knew before just how easily a gesture so simple as body language, eye contact, or tone of voice can have completely different meanings depending on where you are from. I've been in Florida my whole life, and although I haven't ventured out much, I'm constantly around all sorts of people on a daily basis. After learning about things such as high-context vs. low-context culture, I came to realize how many of the humiliating or confusing moments I've had most likely stemmed from these unspoken differences and not from anyone being rude or obstinate.

They didn't just dump definitions on us—rather, they explained things that worked, and gave us relevant examples. One of the strongest impressions they made was their explanation of humor. Humor isn't always directly translatable across cultures, and that reminded me of an experience I had where I posted a meme in a group chat for a class project and someone just did not understand it. I was a little embarrassed, but I now understand that they just did not share the same cultural frame of reference. This chapter actually made me more attuned to how much communication can be multi-layered when individuals are from different worlds—and how crucial it is to be receptive to that.

Chapter 9 

Chapter 9 felt super familiar because group projects are something we’ve all dealt with—both the good and the bad. Everyone’s been in a group where someone disappears, or one person takes over and doesn’t let anyone else contribute. The part that really connected with me was the idea of different roles within a group. Sometimes I allow others to handle things, and sometimes I just shut up and allow them to do their thing because I have no clue where I am at. Reading about the stages that groups go through—forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning—reassured me that even if a group is acting like they are crazy, they are probably going through one of those stages.

I had never known anything called "communication climate," but it all clicked into place right away. I’ve been part of groups where no one spoke up because they felt like their opinions didn’t matter, and I’ve also been in ones where everyone felt comfortable sharing—and those usually went better. It made me realize how much tone and attitude affect the whole group’s energy. I've definitely been guilty of being passive-aggressive or impatient when frustrated, and now I can appreciate how that can lead the group astray as well. This chapter was good at reminding me that the manner in which you say something is as significant as what you're saying.

Chapter 10 

Chapter 10 was probably most relevant in a real-world context. The staff did a great job of describing the different leadership styles and methods for solving problems. I especially liked the "Five Whys" technique—asking the question "why" multiple times in order to get to the root cause of the problem. It's easy, but very good at letting you know what's really going on. I thought about a past project when deadlines were consistently missing. We thought it was just laziness on people's parts, but in retrospect, there wasn't any leadership or task delegation, and so the whole thing fell apart.

Learning about different types of leadership e.g., democratic, autocratic, servant, and transformational helped me understand more about myself as well. I learned that in the past, I might have been more controlling because I didn't know another way to lead. Now I understand that leadership is not dominating it's about supporting all people in fulfilling their work and creating a platform wherein the group succeeds. I liked the way they spoke about leadership as this stretchy thing where at times leading means stepping back or merely keeping the group grounded when everything gets tight.

Generally, this project turned out to be so much more meaningful than what I was expecting. The speeches were not perfect, but they were genuine and authentic. They caused me to reflect on how I communicate with other individuals and how I engage in group settings. I went away with a better understanding of how culture impacts the way we communicate, the group dynamics, and what leadership is really about. What I got out of this exercise most is that communication, culture, and leadership are all interconnected. When one of us is away, it affects everything else. Realizing that can make a huge difference in how we work with others—and how well we succeed at any collaborative endeavor.