What a Newsletter Taught Me About Teamwork

I'll be honest — when our group sat down to start working on the newsletter, my first reaction was something close to overwhelm.

As a communication student, I'm used to ideas flying around the room. Brainstorming is supposed to be the fun part. But here's the thing about being a visual thinker: when too many ideas hit at once, my brain doesn't get excited — it freezes. I need to see the concept take shape before I can fully engage with it. And in those early moments, nothing had taken shape yet.

Finding the Concept

Once we slowed down and landed on a concept, everything improved. People's ideas started connecting. For most of the project after that, we were genuinely on the same page, and it showed in the work.

It reminded me that in any collaborative setting, taking the time to align on the what and why before jumping into the how isn't wasted time. It's the foundation that makes everything else faster.

The hardest is knowing when to hold back.

Here's something I didn't expect to struggle with: not overstepping.

Early on, I noticed the newsletter's colors and layout weren't quite working — at least not to my eye. And I felt immediately the desire to jump in and fix it. But it wasn't my task.

I sat with that tension for a bit. Then I decided to offer a suggestion — just one, about the color — and brought it to the group. We talked it through together, and eventually we worked on the layout as a team. It improved a lot.

That moment taught me something I want to carry into my career: your ideas are only as good as the way you bring them to the table. Timing, tone, and respect for other people's tasks matter just as much as the idea itself.

Everyone brings something different

Looking back, what made this newsletter work wasn't that we all thought the same way. It was the opposite. Some people were strong in writing, others in design, others in visual elements.

That's the heart of collaboration, isn't it? Not everyone is rowing in the same direction because they think the same thoughts, but everyone is rowing together because they trust each other enough to share what they see.

So, how do I want to carry this into my career?

By staying open to feedback, even when it's uncomfortable. That's the commitment I'm making to myself.

I want to be the kind of communicator who speaks up when something isn't working. I also want to be the kind of person who listens when others give me feedback. Feedback is only fair if it flows both ways.

And the teams I want to be part of — the ones that actually produce something worth being proud of — are built on that kind of mutual honesty.

Collaboration isn't always comfortable. But in my experience, the discomfort is usually where the growth is hiding.