Dealing with unexpected challenges
By Victoria
The last month has been unusually difficult. We experienced a loss in our family about two weeks before the interim report was due for our client. As someone who prefers structure and tends to guide team projects, this event forced me to take a step back and rely more on my team members. I always want to be a good team member and I get incredibly anxious when I feel that I am not doing “enough” for a project, but this unfortunate life event forced me to take a step back and recognize my limits while also identifying ways I could still contribute meaningfully to the group and the project.
It made me ask for help, which is not something I am always good at doing. However, I do think that taking a step back has helped me to learn more about my teammates as well as see things in a new light.
All-in-all, our interim report went very well, even with the new hurdle on my end. Our client was incredibly excited by all of the research and findings we showed her and was thrilled with the direction of the project. She mentioned that she would like to have her staff join us for the final presentation or one of our meetings so they can see what we have found and offer additional perspectives and insight. I really appreciated that our client also gave us a few specific adjustments she would like to see, which is helping us as we narrow down our research. It has been reassuring to know that we are on the right track as we go into the last leg of the project.
Despite the positive response from our clients, I mentioned to my teammates in our weekly meeting that I have been struggling with not really seeing a tangible and complete deliverable for our project. We currently have a lot of research and some well-founded ideas, but we are still deep in the research stage and our project isn’t in a concrete final form just yet. It was helpful for me to hear that, while they agreed that our work is still in progress, we are bringing value to our client in the research and resources we are gathering. We just haven’t reached the stage of compiling it into its final form just yet, but that can take a little more time.
Overall, my anxiety has been heavily present across all parts of my life this month: personal, professional, and academic. I am grateful to have team members who were willing and able to step up as I dealt with an unexpected emergency and who are dedicated to the project and outcome.
I am still learning that it takes time to get to the final product and that gathering research and setting up the groundwork will ultimately lead to a stronger deliverable that will really help our client reach her goal.