Today's class is about an unconventional learning experience. Our very own Dr. Mandi asked us to perform a valley crossing exercise in group of three. Initially it looked more of a team building activity, but slowly & gradually I realized the importance of the same. The exercise had an hidden agenda of Organizational Management and Teamwork.
Coordination- Finally the most important of them all was coordination that was the sole reason for our success.
The task at hand required a group of three people to move from left side of the valley to the right side with the help of a pole. The task demanded a good conceptual knowledge of the problem at hand & building an effective strategy to be implemented to solve the problem.
The strategy required setting of SMART goals that were specific for each team member, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound.
For the success of the Valley Crossing problem, the key ingredient was coordination among team members &efficient execution of the strategy devised.
ISSUES AT HAND:
· Speed of the 3 valley crossers should be synchronized.
· Real Time Communication should be there among them - where they could communicate to each other how and what steps to be taken while crossing the valley. Also this would help them be on the same platform of thoughts which is of utmost importance in this task.
·
Gap Size between any pair should be uniform.
·
Closed Feedback Loop must be present.
Interdependence among the crossers should be there.
SOLVING THE PROBLEM:
The exercise was divided into 8 steps which have been explained below:
S – Safe i.e. the person is safely present on the land.
R – Risky i.e. the person is completely in the valley.
HS - Half safe i.e. one foot of the person is in the valley and one foot is on the land.
Step Number
|
Person 1
|
Person 2
|
Person 3
|
1
|
S
|
S
|
S
|
2
|
HS
|
S
|
S
|
3
|
R
|
HS
|
S
|
4
|
HS
|
R
|
S
|
5
|
S
|
HS
|
HS
|
6
|
S
|
S
|
R
|
7
|
S
|
S
|
HS
|
8
|
S
|
S
|
S
|
KEY TAKE AWAYS FROM THE EXERCISE:
· Leadership – different from the tradition approach of an authoritarian team leader.
·
Proper Communication – Communication is the key to crossing the valley effectively.
·
Trust Factor – Every person needed to trust each other completely especially when their feet was off the ground.
· Conflicts Management – dealing with conflict openly and transparently and not allowing grudges to build up and destroy team morale.
· Goals – The goals were clear, defined and each member in the team fully understood the gravity of the problem.
· Predefined Roles and Responsibilities – each team member understood what they ought to do and what they ought not do, to demonstrate their commitment to the team and to support team success. Furthermore the roles and responsibilities keep on changing depending on the situation.
·
Positive Attitude – an overall team culture that is open, transparent, positive, future-focused and able to deliver success.
Equality but not equal - every member should be given same work load but not the same work.
Coordination- Finally the most important of them all was coordination that was the sole reason for our success.
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