LE 04 : Valley Crossing

                         

                     Valley Crossing

In the next lecture, we learnt about the Management skills through the example of Valley Crossing exercise.

The objective of this activity is to get all members of the group safely across the river. They must go as one big group, not multiple smaller ones. Also stress that everyone must be on the river before anyone can get off the river, forcing the entire group to be engaged at once and since this is a team exercise everyone must start over.

 I recommend using this motto with the group, "start as a team end as a team." You can also be creative and add challenges in as the group crosses. For instance you can say a fish jumped up and tail slapped someone in the eyes so now they cannot see(blindfolded). Tell them the river is acidic and when two people share a raft it tipped and now their legs are fused together(tie ankles together). Use these tools to help take away the natural leaders or more outspoken participants and it forces the others to step up and take on more substantial roles.

 No scooting or sliding on the squares. This can be a safety issue and it emphasizes individual work versus teamwork. When the first group members get to the other side immediately start to encourage them to hurry and get off the river. Nearly every time the first few people will rush off the rafts leaving them unattended for you to steal and stranding some of their team-mates. Work this into your debrief, when working with a team you can't forget about your mates. just because you have made it to the finish line someone else may not have. 

So, in all Valley crossing exercise makes us to learn the most crucial aspect of team work which we should keep in mind while working in an organisation.