Teamwork & Leadership CANYONING

Name: *
Dominic Clark

Describe the task *

In detail, what was the aim of the task? How many teams? What was the team dynamic?
Timings? Rules & restrictions?
Our given task in this situation was to work as a team to support each other across a canyon whilst
stepping over and climbing up rocks and uneven platforms. This was a real life situation where
people could've gotten hurt therefore good communication was crucial.
The aim of the task was for us to guide the entire team of students across the canyon making sure
everyone is safe and comfortable with the task at hand.
Everyone in the activity had a positive approach to the task, with everyone treating each-other
equally and helping each-other get through the canyon.
We didn't have many rules or restrictions, other than to make sure not to push others and to wait for
the entire team.

What was your role in the team? *

What did you do? How did you contribute? Leader or teamworker?
In this task, I believe that I was more of a teamworker, helping out the team the same as everyone
out and I was not positioned at the front of the group. I contributed by being part of a rota of
carrying the teams water as well as a dry pack between myself and my partner. I did not take up a
leadership role as I was not delegated one, nor was there much of a chance to step up. I did however
play a part to help the team in the sense that I was asked at several points to stay behind to provide
the rest of the team to ensure that the entire team got through the canyon safely.

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, despite the fact that I was not a leader nor was I allocated a specific role, I still did
what I could to assist members of the team through the course. I believe that I brought a kind and
caring approach to the team as I made it a priority to ensure that everyone had the upmost amount
of safety during the task. I adopted a self-leadership role in the sense that I spent much of the time
in figuring out the best way to get myself through the course in comparison to a member of the team
who was appointed the team leader, who had the role of making sure that everyone was catching up
and that no one fell behind or felt left out in the activity.
In terms of theory, more specifically Belbins theory, I believe that I adopted the role of a teamworker as I played the same role as the majority of the team and we each had the same objectives.

This was different to team members who had an allocated role as being a leader where they adopted
the coordinator role as they had an objective and it was their job to help the team reach it. This was
making sure that we reached the top as a team without anyone feeling left out.
Although I was not a physical leader, I still had a people orientated approach to the task as I adopted
the responsibility of making sure everyone was safe. This juxtaposed against the leadership style of
the allocated team leader as he took a democratic approach by making sure if everyone was ready
before moving on in the course.

How did you perform as a team? *

For the M & D criteria make comparisons with other team performances and relate to theory.
The task that we performed was a temporary team as we were only allocated this team for a short
time period but we managed to learn much from it, and apply it to our future encounters with
teamwork in this type of situation. We made a quick effort in making sure everyone was clear of the
aims and objectives of the task.

As a team we did go through Tuckmans theory as we started the task all unsure of how we
could help lead and be part of the team. After some complaining of the task occurred in the
sense that people were falling behind and not much notice was taken from the front of the
team. Soon after, the team began to put a system in place of stopping every few minutes to
make sure that everyone was close and that no one was left behind. After a good 20 minutes,
the team got used to helping each-other out and to take note of who is there, which formed
out performing stage. After the task, we learnt that even though our primary aim was to get
through the course safely, we also had to check off other aims that may have an effect on
other members in the team, which formed our adjourning stage.
Some of the team members felt discouraged at some stages during the task and there was
not a great deal of support given. Motivational skills of some members of the team was not
very strong.
As we only had one team, no comparison can be made of our team performance.

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
In the given task, I had multiple skills and qualities that I used to my strength. The strength that I
possessed the most in this activity was my communication skill as I communicated safety points
and other useful information to other team members clearly. I worked with the leader at time to tell
him if and when everyone caught up. Communication in the given task had a great importance as
safety was crucial. Another strength that I exhibited in this challenge was my ability to support
others in the sense that I took priority in the care of others to ensure that everyone behind me were
safe and knew exactly what was to come. Adding onto this, I attempted at times to motivate others
to take a big step or to challenge themselves during the task. Physically, I made it through the
course with no problem, without having to take many breaks.

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
A weakness that I did possess was that I did not question the leaders or people in front of me
enough as if there was a point that I was unsure about, I did not go ahead to ask the members in
front, I would attempt to get through it myself and evaluate whether or not it was safe for the team
members behind me.

How could you improve for next time? *

Make future recommendations for yourself, your team and other individuals / teams.
Individually for the future if I were given the task in the future, I would focus on working more
closely to the team leader to question exactly what is safe or not, maximising my safety in the
activity rather than just the safety of those behind me. This is so I could avoid injury of any kind.
This should help me to boost my questioning skills and to be applied to other activities. Although I
helped members of the team multiple times during the activity, next time I would take more time
out than I already did to use my initiative to develop a leadership position where I would help out
more of the team than I already did.

In the group, we should have started off with a higher awareness level, given that some
people felt left out of the activity at the beginning of the task. Next time, we should set this
out alongside our primary aim as our task was to get there as a TEAM not just a small group
of individuals at the front of the group. This is to give a clear expectation of the team so that
each member works towards achieving that aim whilst performing that task.
Another recommendation that I would make for the team is to increase the overall
communication between team members. I believe that some members communicated with
each other much more than others, and benefited from it. It was a team exercise so being
able to communicate with each other is of significant importance. Communication skills will
be used in all of our futures so practicing it in this real life situation will be greatly
beneficial.
In addition, some members did not have the same amount of motivation and drive to work
together on this as a team. I would recommend that the more motivated individuals should
give a push to those who are less motivated to play a role in the team. Being able to
motivate is a skill that is very important in team leadership and teamwork. Not all of the
members would have the same courage as others so giving them motivation would help
them perform the task better and help you be a better team mate or leader.

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?
As mentioned above, the conflict that raised at the beginning was that some people began to feel left
out which may have made them become resentful of the leader and team members at the front,
possibly causing some of them to not listen to the instructions as clearly. After some time, it was
addressed to the entire team and a system was put into place with a time allocation to ensure that no
one was falling behind. The leader began to stop every few minutes to make sure everyone was
catching up.

How else could you use relevant theory to analyse the overall performance today? *
Leadership styles, Belbin, Tuckman, Adair, Honey, Margerison & Mccann, Woodcock,

In short conclusion, I believe that the leader did a good job choosing the democratic
approach to ensure that everyone felt comfortable and so that everyone could play to their
strength. The reason why we ended up working well as a team was because we followed the
steps of the Tuckman theory, giving us a broader understanding.