TEAM WORK

Every manager knows the power of Teamwork. In fact the very existence of a manager can be attributed to the phenomenon of 'Teams'. If human beings had long decided to do every task individually, the world would have been a totally different place. The Valley Crossing exercise purely focussed on learning this phenomenon called 'Teamwork'.

VALLEY CROSSING

Task: Three persons should cross the valley using a long stick.

Now we have two ways to do the task:

1. Place the stick such that it acts like a bridge between the valleys and each member individually goes on it to reach the other side.

2. All the team members should hold and rest the stick on their shoulder and while one member is crossing the valley the other two should balance it.

If we properly analyze the two methods the first one seems to be very risky and the chance of completing the task is very less. Here we come across another important aspect of management called Planning. In any organization even if we have all the resources to complete a task but there is no proper planning we cannot do anything with our resources but drain them.

Three wise men Crossing the valley  - Detailed task process :

Persons	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Step
1	Safe	Safe	Safe
2	Half Risky,
3	Full Risky,
4	Half Risky,	Half Risky,
5		Full Risky,
6		Half Risky,	Half Risky,
7			Full Risky,
8			Half Risky,
9	Safe	Safe	Safe

Safe - Both the legs of the person have full support
Half Risky – One leg in the air and the other leg has support
Full risky - Both the legs are in the air without any support
Half risky – One leg is in the air and the other leg has support
Safe - Both the legs have full support

Lessons Learnt :

1. Structuring the Task :

·                     Role A = Role B = Role C : All roles are equal and there is no differenciation between the responsibilities of any two persons.

·                     For all the 3 members, the task is designed to be - Easy, Lighter, Clear and Systematic 

·                     All three are equally responsible in their contributions for the overall task completion.

2. Structuring Team Roles :

·                     Roles of all three members are similar but not same; and equivalent in terms of total effort & risk.

·                     All 3 member Roles have equal distribution of 

·                     Risky situations (1); 

·                     Half risky situations (2); 

·                     No risk situations (2)

·                     All roles are designed for equally strong persons and there is no weaker or stronger requirement in any specific role.

·                     Communication and feedback across the 3 members was instantaneous.

·                     Interdependence among the 3 members was maximised and made crucial.

The roles are interlocking, with highest levels of interaction among the members, with instantaneous feedback being exchange and without any scope for social loafing.

3. Preparation and Execution :

All the 3  members are systematically trained for all the steps and, while crossing, they communicate and coordinate with each other through a various kinds of sounds and other signals.

4. Team Excellence :

Team excellence comes through proper designing of team tasks, correctly assigning team roles, and preparation and execution of the tasks. Thus, excellence is designed by the managers.