No matter how much we love it or hate it, at one time or another we’re required to work with a group in a group project. And, in every group there just happens to be stereotypical roles that we simply fall into. Here are those 17 roles–which one are you!?
1. The Leader
We all know who I’m talking about. The one who takes charge and immediately starts assigning people tasks. This person grabs control before anyone even has a chance to say hello.
2. The Volunteer
Ahh..someone has to do the least appealing part of the project. The Volunteer is the person who finally agrees to do it after 10 minutes of awkard silence and staring at each other.
3. The Punctual Prince/Princess
This is the person who has a very limited amount of time that they can meet to work with your group, meaning that all of your group members have to adjust their schedules to meet. If you show up late, the Punctual Prince or Princess will not be pleased. After all, their time is precious!
4. The “I don’t care” Member
This person literally does not care. But don’t worry about these easy-going folks because even if they don’t care, they will still do their work. You can push them around and tell them what to do and no matter what it is, they won’t complain because they won’t say anything. They will never share their opinions for the project. They’ll never criticize anyone else. Why you ask? THEY DON’T CARE, they have no worries.
5. The Forgetful Frog
We all love this kid, right? This is the person who forgets to do their part of the project, sometimes even a number of times. They never fail to come up with amazing excuses as to why they forgot to do their work. Oh, how we wish they could use some of that creativity in the project!
6. The Motivator
This person will have their game face on and be ready to tackle the project! They will motivate others in the group with their positive attitude. While they may not be the leader, they are another key player into the project’s success.
7. The Procrastinator
This person will do anything and everything to keep the group off track. They will make you laugh, lose focus, and then make you want to cry because of how little work you get done during the times you’re supposed to be productive. They will go from talking about the project to making your group members watch a silly vine of cats.
8. The Confused Captain
You could give this person a detailed, step by step, breakdown of the project and they will still be confused. They’ll do the project wrong and then say they were confused on what they were supposed to do. I recommend giving this person a simple task like putting together the powerpoint…actually no…just let them write everyone’s names on the paper.
9. The Bad Idea Champion
This person tries very hard to be involved in the project and voice their opinion, but unfortunately their ideas aren’t so good. You can only fakely say “Aw, yeah! That’s a good idea!” so many times. You don’t want to make them feel bad, but you also don’t want to fail your project.
10. The Flirt
This is the person who decides to use the project as an excuse to spit that game. They’ll privately text you aside from the group message and will offer to get some “extra” work done with you. They’ll even offer to split the group into two teams. If you hadn’t guessed already, you’re on their team. They want you more than that A.
12. The Zero Contribution Hero
This person will not do absolutely anything for your project. They will show up to meetings but will look at everyone like they’re covered in puke. They will huff and puff, sigh, roll their eyes, and mumble under their breath in anger. They’ll make smart comments, tell you your ideas are terrible, and will do everything except actually anything for the project.
13. The Too Cool Tool
He/she thinks they are way too cool to do this project. They are above you, you filthy peasant! They will think anything you say is lame and will not laugh at your jokes–so don’t even try to make any! While they may not tell you that they’re making changes to the project, they will take over the materialistic parts of the project like making it look perfect. They also most likely will be awesome at presenting.
14. The Serious Samurai
This person will act as if the group project is “The Hunger Games” and their life is depending on it. They will not joke around, they will not relax, and they most certainly will not let you relax either. If you do not do your part promptly or on time, then they’ll tell your professor and blame everything on you. They want to win and if you cause them to fail, they will take you down with them. The quote: “It’s a dog eat dog world.” describes the Serious Samurai perfectly.
15. The Hulk
This person straight up has anger issues. If you try to assign them a part they don’t want to do or if you try to make a suggestion about their work to them, they will probably attack you. It’s best to let this person do their own thing. They will be highly offended, easily angered, and uncontrollable. They are vicious and no project is worth these bruises…or worse…an F.
16. The Worry Wart
This person will be freaking out the moment your professor assigns the project. They will stress not only themselves out but your group as well. They will probably be at your professor’s office hours more than the meetings because if every detail is not exact, they will overreact. Just make sure they don’t have a mental breakdown the day before the project is due.
17. The No Show
This person is supposedly in your group but they never show up to anything. There’s no mystery bigger than the No Show. They are like a mythelogical creature that seems to exist, but it isn’t definite that they actually do exist. Chances are that this person withdrew from the course or moved away to a deserted farm to raise alpacas. The possibilites are endless. Sometimes this person will randomly send a message a day before the project is due and ask what they can do, but majority of the time you never see/hear/speak to them until the day the project is due.
Oh man, you’ve got to love group projects! Which one of these people are you in a group project?
Happy semester, Collegiettes!