Ultimate Frisbee is more than a game of skill...I guess.

For my leadership class we are reading this book called "Leading Self-Directed Work Teams" I find it fascinating that all the ideas in this book seem to slip their way into every action that we perform throughout any activity. In the book, there is a section in chapter six that talks about how critical meetings and training are for a team. Last Monday in class it seems like we spent a whole lot of time playing the game with little preparation and absolutely no game plan. I guess the assumption is that "hey, we're college students, we know how this works," when honestly I had no idea how the game was truly played.

I think it can be quiet overwhelming for a team, if their leader stands up in front of a group and reads an internet "how to" print out of the game plan and then sends them out full force. Even though this was just a game of Frisbee, I can imagine what a disaster this would have been if it was a business project, or even more dramatically a strategy on the battlefield. Sure we would have a few guys who knew how to shoot a gun, some who could map out a target route, but if there is no training, are we not setting them up for a slaughter? So if the game we "learned" on Monday was real life, we would have been screwed. (To put it in the nicest terms)

With a little more training, and if the history had been relevant, this may have been a beneficial day of leadership. But I guess, since I learned something, then it was beneficial. I think I am just beginning to get what this class is about, it's more than the actual three ours of sports, but a day to relate to the rest of our lives, in the work force and in the symbolic and literal battle field. Figuring out how to take leadership, break it down, level the playing field, and figure out what the games are really about.

snoooooooooooooop Step with the five P's

Last Monday in our team’s class, Katrina and Laura lead an unusual day of rhythm. We followed the idea of “stepping” and had to create a routine using our hands, feet, and mouths. The purpose was well rounded; we were a project, task-based team that was overall self-managed. We had to work together to create this team with very little dictation from either Katrina or Laura. The difficulty was the place; each person was randomly selected to perform a different motion, a few for the mouth, a few for the hands and a few for the feet. The problem was that most of us lacked the ability to perform fully in the area assigned. But overall we pulled together and formulated a plan to be as efficient as possible. Luckily there was hardly any power struggle for so many leaders to have to work together, each of us did well keeping an open mind and using creativity.

One idea on Chapter two of our Managing Teams book discusses using small work groups within each team in order to better balance out the leadership and creativity. It says that if this is done successfully then they can operate with little supervision, which I believe that we accomplished.

Looking at idea of social facilitation, our team had to be considerate of the abilities of each member when choosing the moves and positioning of each person. For example, for those who really lacked hand coordination, it was necessary that we create a steady beat for them to follow, the same idea with the mouth, and those who could beat box separate from others who can not carry a tune. Over it was an interesting and building experience, each week we seem to get to know our own strengths along with the other leaders around us.

Football and Teams

It seems natural to assume that football is a sport meant for enjoyment and entertainment. But as so prominently displayed on Monday, it can be so much more than a pigskin and twelve players. The sport of football requires training, agility, skill, balance, cooperation, and concentration. The training for each style of move requires a coach who is willing to allow growth among each individual player. In the book, "Self-Directed Work Teams," the authors explain how empowerment is key to the success of the team as a whole. "It is the function of four important variables:authority, resources, information, and accountability." (15)
The authority is about having a person to lead and guide, and resources are provided for growth and productivity. and the information on how to throw a football, how a play is operated etc. is necessary to continue to play to full potential. On Monday our class experience the justice of empowerment, having to depend on Zach to provide adequate teaching so that I, and each other student could grasp the concept of each pass and block. It was important that he not just dictate the game, but allow some freedoms and liberties among the team members so that the game would not become a game of running back and forth from the field to ask permission to complete a pass or through the football accurately. If this would seem ridiculous on the playing field, than it obviously shows that in the corporate world it would be equally strenuous.

Team Leadership assesment quizzes

The first quiz in chapter 27 was hard to relate to since I have never managed any type of business. I felt as though I was answering non-hypothetical questions...hypothetically. Besides the fact that I was not to fond of the results, on which I scored a 66, otherwise labeled a "poor fit" . The second survey appeared more in my favor, ranking my personality fairly high, which I must say boosted my quickly evaporating confidence. I guess it could also be argued that I may have put more careful consideration into the second, seeing as my team leading abilities depended on the survey.
It's obvious that I have a whole lot to learn this semester about being assertive and not afraid to step on peoples toes if necessary. That does not have to be in a dictatorship type way, but maybe just learning to handle people appropriately and with purposeful vision. I am excited to see what I will gain from a semester to humble ignorance. I guess what I mean by that is, I am still uncertain if I have the confidence to lead others without any doubts or fear.

Week1

I hope everybody is as excited as me for the first class of Teams!