Crossing the valley: A team of managers

So we moved along to our next class of Principles of Management by Prof Mandi. And here I learnt how an innovative, yet so simple exercise has so many managerial lessons in store! Curious to know what it was? It’s known as the valley crossing exercise! No need to panic, we are not crossing an actual valley here, we are just getting a feel of it!

Here's how the setup looks like theoretically

And here is how we did it!!!

 
 Confused what is this?? Let me explain

The first image shows what exactly we are trying to do. Three people have to cross a valley, one after the other, and the only resource is a common stick that they have to use to support each other. So when the first person is crossing the valley, the other 2 have to support him and so on for each of them. Looks difficult? But I assure you it’s easy once you understand the PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT involved in this exercise. There are lots of essential lessons contained in this exercise.

LESSONS LEARNT

ü  The first lesson I learnt from this is that a task might appear difficult at the beginning but it starts looking more and more possible and feasible once a proper plan is laid out at the beginning.

ü  Teamwork and co-ordination is another important management principle that we learn from this exercise. It just goes to show how a team with a good spirit and good co-ordination can cross valleys!! I would take valleys as just a metaphor here for the big obstacles the organizations actually face. The second image above was the exercise done in the class to teach us about a team and co-ordination. Their feet movement had to be in sync for the task to be possible. A valuable lesson learnt here and a great way to teach that indeed.

ü  Also what I noticed here was being good in one job was not good enough and there is no concept as such of a preferred role. Each person has to cross the valley and support the other two. You cannot avoid that no matter which position you stand at. Just shows that we are bound to face obstacles in an organization and we have to be adept at handling everything to overcome those obstacles. The interdepence of members of this team on each other is a striking lesson to be learnt through this exercise. This only bolsters the fact that how organizations are built on interdependence - be it amongst employees or departments. Interdependence also leads to sense of responsibility! Just setting your mind on the task and forming a team is not enough, proper training before execution is an essential step that decides whether the team would be able to execute the task successfully.

All and all, it was a great exercise that taught so many things without any book! Well, a picture speaks a thousand words and I would an exercise teaches a 1000 lessons :)

Would like to end this blog here. Until next time.... Adios.