Participating in a Working Group

Finding yourself as a working group participant means you are passionate about the subject the working group is focused on, you have technical knowledge capabilities in the area or field the working group is focused on or both.

Below are items I hold of importance, for participants to actively contribute to a working group:

• Be here, now.
  • Avoid multi-tasking where possible. Pay attention to the conversations occurring in the working group, and speak up to add value when you can.
• Add value without filling the space
  • There can be times when it feels like you should be heard, or when a lull in conversation feels like it should be filled.
  • If you don't have data relevant to the discussion occurring, don't feel obligated to speak.
  • Speak up and express your opinion and the data you know and have when it's applicable to the situation.
• Volunteer for tasks that you are suited to handle
  • In your working group, tasks will surface that need to be completed.
  • If you have the capability technically and the time in the current schedule to complete the task, offer to take the task on.
  • Working groups operate by their members offering their time to complete the tasks they identify
• Provide realistic dates on deliverables
  • We've all been in a place where we offer to complete a task and then give a date that we know cannot be met
  • Giving a date three weeks out is better than a week out, knowing the week-out date will not be met.