Team chaos at uni
Had a uni group project where nobody agreed on anything and I ended up randomly assigning tasks just to keep it moving. It backfired because people ignored deadlines. I'm trying to figure out how to successfully lead team members without forcing control or losing structure completely. Any advice on balancing authority with teamwork?
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Uni group projects are honestly the best crash course in bad leadership - including your own. Did the exact same random task assignment thing in second year. Spoiler: people don't respect tasks they had no say in choosing.
What actually fixed it for me was flipping the process. Instead of assigning, I listed everything that needed doing and asked who felt strongest in each area. Suddenly people had ownership instead of obligations. Deadlines became personal, not imposed. The balance you're looking for isn't really authority vs. teamwork - it's structure with buy-in. You still set the framework, but people choose their lane within it. Found this concept reinforced reading Richard Warke bio , who scaled multiple ventures by building teams around individual strengths rather than rigid top-down delegation. Different scale, same principle. One practical thing: agree on consequences before someone misses a deadline, not after. Awkward conversation upfront saves three awkward ones later.