Zin Obelisk

Describe the task *

In detail, what was the aim of the task? How many teams? What was the team dynamic? Timings?
Rules & restrictions?
In this task we were split into 2 teams of 3. The aim of the task was to use the clues provided to
figure out how long it took to build the Zin Obelisk, which is some sort of a tower. Some of the
things we had to figure out to understand how long it took to build the Zin Obelisk included the
dimensions, how many people worked on the Zin Obelisk, how many hours everyone worked a day
and much more. Our team was incredibly dynamic. This is because we immediately analysed each
of our skills and made sure we used them effectively. Also we kept communicating with one
another and made sure we all agreed before making a decision. The rules and restrictions were no
use of calculators and phones or computer to search the answer up. For this task we had 30
minutes.
What was your role in the team? *
What did you do? How did you contribute? Leader or teamworker?
To be honest at the beginning I was quite clueless. I was confused and was not doing much.
However 5 minutes in I decided to take control and started to give roles out. I made sure we were
going to tackle the project systematically and efficiently. I gave one team member the role of
organising the information in terms of subject and the other team member had to get rid of
irrelevant information and make sure the important information was pointed out. I ended up being
the problem solver and the leader. I would get passed on information and I did much of the
mathematical aspect of the task and came up with the answer which ended up being correct. I also
helped cut out the cards and helped lay them out on the table. So in my opinion I was both a leader
and a teamworker.
How did you perform as an individual? *
For the M & D criteria make comparisons with other individual performances in your team and
relate to theory.
As an individual I believe that I started of sloppy but in the end preformed exceptionally well and
was a vital part of the team. After the first five minute I was able to get down to work and
concentrate and work to the best of my abilities. I was able to overlook the task on the whole and
manage my team accordingly effectively and that helped us in achieving our goal.
In terms of the bellman theory, out of the 8 roles I believe I was very much the resource
investigator. This is because after figuring out a game plan I was really motivated to complete the
task and finish before the other team, as I am very competitive. Also I was able to take in the
information and come up with creative ways to solve the problem and ways able to negotiate the
reasoning behind why my tactics was correct. As a leader I feel that I took on a very laissez faire
style as I gave out instructions to each individual on how to complete the task and then they
completed it with their own initiative and creativity. However I did give them advice from time to
time on ways they could improve their tactic, for example clearing the desk to work in a more
organised manner.
Compared to other members in my team I think that I was much more active. Due to the complexity
of the task and the very limited time many people in the group almost shut down. However after
getting on track we all shared a common goal of getting the answer as quickly as possible and
therefore they became shapers as they kept on trying to help me solve problems we encountered
and helped me achieve our aim of finding the solution.

How did you perform as a team? *

For the M & D criteria make comparisons with other team performances and relate to theory.
As a team I feel that we ended up working together incredibly well. After the first 5 minutes of
everyone just complaining about how hard and impossible the activity was we were able to come
together and all put in our strengths to figure out the answer.
As a team I think we did follow the Tuckmans theory as we all showed evidence of the 5 stages.
We did in fact storm at one point as some of us did not agree on how to solve how many people
were working on the Zin Obelisk so we decided to take a vote on the most logical answer based on
the information we had. However after this we dramatically showed evidence of norming and
performing as we spotted out key information, which helps us out figure the solution. The type of
team we were was a temporary team as we were only put together for a short amount of time to
complete a task.
Comparing our performance compared to the other team I feel we were more of a successful team
as the other did not storm at any point, meaning they did not follow Tuckmans theory and
according to Mr. Tuckman these stages are vital in the development of a team.
What were your strengths? *
Communication, problem solving, time management, supporting others, physical abilities,
confidence, motivation, resolving conflict, praise, questioning, body language, listening,
awareness, creativity etc
To start of with my main strengths was my problem solving. I was being fed non stop information
during the activity and had to make sure I was taking everything into consideration and was filtering
information that was maybe not so useful. I was also quite good at communicating with my team
members. I made sure I was constantly sharing information with them on what pieces I needed
them to find to help me solve a part of the problem, or from giving them roles to help the team
progress and more. Finally I feel that for a difference I was actually quite creative as I was able to
take the information and try solve it in all types of way to get the right answer.
What were your weaknesses? *
Communication, problem solving, time management, supporting others, physical abilities,
confidence, motivation, resolving conflict, praise, questioning, body language, listening,
awareness, creativity etc
I feel that at the beginning my main weakness was my confidence and motivation. I was almost
certain that we were not going to be able to figure out the solution as I thought it was close to
impossible. I really just put my head down thinking the answer with just appear on the table.
Thankfully I was able to change this and ended up finding the correct answer. My second
weakness would probably have to be my time management. I think as a group we really took our
time and then rushed at the end. If this would change the whole experience would have been more
enjoyable.
How could you improve for next time? *
Make future recommendations for yourself, your team and other individuals / teams.
The first I would change about my personal performance were the first 5 minutes of the activity. I
need to make sure that in the future I make sure I use my time better so that things dont need to
be rushed and we can double, triple check answers to avoid any mistakes. A way I could do this is
start with a more positive mindset from the begging of the activity.
In terms of my own team what we could have improved is our enthusiasm towards the whole task.
The team was almost doing the work because we had no other choice, which is not a very smart
approach. Instead if we were more enthusiastic about solving the problem we would have probably

finished faster and with less careless mistakes throughout the activity. The second improvement
we could have made was our praise to one another. We did not really congratulate one another
when finding an important piece of information. By praising you can boost motivation and this can
increase efficiency.
The other team actually worked quite perfect and efficiently and were able to finish on time after
checking their answers a few times as well. The only improvement I could give them would be to
make turns in talking to prevent chaos and from preventing any vital information to be left out. Also
if someone is not being listened to in a group this could de-motivate them.
Was there any conflict in the group? *
If yes, describe why and how was it resolved? If no, what did the leader do to ensure this was the
case?
We did have one brief conflict where we did not agree on the method we were using to solve how
many people worked on the project and how many hours they spent. Therefore we pitched in our
ideas and explained why we thought our answer would work. We then had a democratic vote and
the solution with the majority of the votes was chosen and used.
How else could you use relevant theory to analyse the overall performance today? *
Leadership styles, Belbin, Tuckman, Adair, Honey, Margerison & Mccann, Woodcock,
I feel like I also took on the Shaper role as part of the Belbin theory as I was doing a lot of the
mathematical and logical problem solving as well as almost giving the team a push of energy to
meet our aims and objectives. Reflecting on what type of power I gave my team ( Tannenbaum and
Schmidt theory) I feel like I gave the testing power. I let them used a lot of personal creativity to
solve problems however if I saw something going wrong I would intervene.