LME Assignment 1

Reflection from Outbound activity

9/25/2010

Submitted to

Asha Bhandarkar

MDI Gurgaon

Submitted by

Rudranil Dutta

09P165
Activity 3  Maximum people within the tube (Tube potential)

Experience

The objective was quite simple and we were asked to estimate the maximum number of people
with feet inside the tube. Once estimated, we have to implement the target set. Throughout the
task, there was cohesion among the team members and we went out to achieve the maximum
irrespective of the targets estimated earlier.

Learning the following are the takeaways from the activity

• Target setting- it is important to understand the task difficulty before setting a target.
Target would be set in such a manner that exceeding it should be seen as a bonus (a huge
overshoot is also not desirable) but we have to make sure that we do not end up far below
the target as it can account for a huge loss. Thus a visionary leader would ensure a
reachable target is set for the team to achieve.

• Cohesion- group unity and understanding is must when we perform a task. Such a feeling
pushes us to our limits and we tend to achieve what seemed improbable at first.

• Set examples and effective co-ordination – here, the leader is responsible to motivate
the team members by properly communicating to them how a task should be performed.
Maintaining co-ordination in chaos will ensure a smooth functioning.

• Learn from your mistakes and move ahead – a leader always learn from the mistakes
and make adjustments accordingly and do not hesitate to take risks if he/she thinks that it
will pay off and will be beneficial for the team. For example, when the tube burst in the
first chance, one could have been pessimistic about the target but a visionary would find a
way to get over it and then put all the efforts to go for the target once more. It is important
to tackle hindrances rather than pausing at them or backtracking due to it.
Activity 4  Minefield

Experience

The task difficulty suddenly jumped up in this activity. Not only there was a case of too many
constraints but another important aspect of leadership ie time management played a crucial role
in the activity. The confidence was no doubt sky high when we started but it went down quite
rapidly throughout the course of the activity and finally the result achieved was a dismal one if
compared with the target set in the beginning. This highlighted the key fact that there will be also
difficult hurdles in our paths so we have to be a bit cautious at every important juncture.

Learning the following are the takeaways from the activity

• Effective planning – every task is not the same and requires an adequate amount of
planning before we start performing the tasks. Hence, a big mistake was target estimated
in the previous activity should not be brought into consideration as it may result in a bias.

• Continuous support – a group activity is not performed individually. So, to achieve the
target, it is imperative to work as a team than to work as separate individuals. As was
portrayed in the optimal solution that lending support to each other could help us save a
lot of efforts and time.

• Adaptive and flexible – We should always have the macro and micro goals in sight
while implementing a plan. It is important to have a proper balance of minute details and
the larger picture while we go about achieving our goals. Innovative thinking and action
are also important pre-requisites for an effective leadership.

• Leadership sharing- it is important to have a proper understanding of our strengths and

weaknesses. So, it would enable us to have the clarity as in when to don the leadership hat
and when to pass it on others. An effective sharing of ‘lead mantle’ would also satiate
many egos and thus eliminate lot of barriers. Everyone leading at the same moment will
lead to utter confusion and end up in failure as a team. An effective leader and team
 member is one who shares the responsibilities to ensure a smooth functioning of the
group. There should be a genuine sense of trust and security among the team members
and a good leader is responsible to build such an environment.

• Task Leadership – this is also an important attribute an effective leader must possess to
lead people by example. One must take initiative to motivate others to follow suit,
provide support whenever necessary and guide other members as and when the team
seem directionless about the task.

• Resource utilization – a good leader also backtracks and introspect a decision whenever
there is a dead end. He should make use of all the resources available whenever they are
required to meet the ends. There is always a case of ‘escalation of commitment’ among
the team members and thus the team becomes rigid while taking decisions. A leader
should manage such a situation by communicating to the team about the necessity of the
changes and how it could help us achieve the desired goals and in a way he/she will try to
bring in flexibility in the team decisions. For example in this task, it was imperative to go
for consultation when we were not performing appropriately for a long time.

• Devil’s Advocate – sometimes, it is required for a leader to don the role of devil advocate
to ask queries and raise doubts at intervals to test whether the plan is suitable or not.
Sometimes he/she has to challenge the consensus as well if he/she believes they are not
moving in the right direction. One should not always conform to whatever being or
whatever being given. A bit of creativity also helps in achieving the overall objective

• Quick thinking – a leader has to think at his/her feet and a good leader is always
engrossed at the objective given at hand and thus in a way it helps him to motivate others
to perform their respective duties. A laidback leader on the other hand could make the
whole group suffer because of its inability to visualise quickly. He should also take the
responsibility of getting everyone sit together or huddle to take a call on an important
decision. Parallel thinking of different member may be conflicting and disrupt the
functioning of the group.

Activity 5  Roller Coaster

Experience

The task was divided into various stages. In the first stage, in separate groups, we found it easy
to collaborate and the task was carried out with ease. But in final stage, during the inter group
collaboration, chaos set in and the overall result was dismal compared to the previous stage. The
main reason was each group made sure that their part was working properly instead of looking at
the overall picture. The other factor would be lack of practice and time management.

Learning the following are the takeaways from the activity

• Information sharing and proper communication- here was highly imperative that the
leader who participated in both intra group and inter group meetings were adept at
grasping and delivering the information with clarity. This was necessary as he was the
group representative and so he has to give ideas in the leaders’ meeting keeping in mind
the whole group’ perspective rather than his individual bias.

• Inter group dynamics – as a leader, it was important to keep in alignment the goals of
each group so that the overall aim could be achieved. So, for that it was important to think
in a different way and give inputs accordingly when in a group and when in the leaders’
meeting. It could be a top down approach wherein the decision for the overall structure is
made and the structure of parts will be made then according to the final structure to
maintain synchronization.

• Practice is essential – to get the desired result, it was important for us that we should
have manage our time so that there would be enough time to practice at the final stage
and we could make the adjustments accordingly. In the end, less time for the trigger
activity was the reason of the overall failure. A good leader could have visualised it in the
very beginning and could have implemented the plan in such a way that appropriate time
would have been given for the same.

• Controlling Group Behaviour- the leader is in the most suitable position to take control
of the group whenever he/she feels they are moving in wrong direction since he/she is the
only one who is involved in both inter and intra group meetings. Thus there will be high
responsibility on his shoulders to take the critical decisions regarding the working of the
group