At our last meeting, PE Dave Anderson took us all on a tour of self-discovery as five teams battled it out to develop a Rotary Club of Berwick Coat of Arms.
The concept was pretty simple, to create a Coat of Arms that uniquely describes "US" to others by way of pictures, words or symbols so that The Rotary Club of Berwick could be recognised anywhere we go, just by our Coat of Arms.
Part of the exercise was to throw in the confusion factor by not explaining how we should create the shield but relying on each team to propose a leader and see if each team member finds a useful and contributing position within each team. So the exercise was all about experiencing how a group of people can evolve to become an effective team when given a task after receiving incomplete instructions and being forced to interpret it and improvise to get a result. I could see that some people were uncomfortable not getting the concept and not knowing what to do. While that sounds harsh, that is exactly what can happen in real life. PE Dave was teaching a life lesson.
Leaders lead. Team Members who understand the project (or who can adapt quickly) contribute. The team members who don't understand the project need another team member to explain enough to make it possible for them to contribute. It is a very dynamic situation: creating a team that can work together, but it is also a dynamic situation to realise that all members can contribute if the balance within the team (leadership, confidence in the project and bringing everyone to the task).
The interesting thing for me (since I am writing about it and have only myself to ask) is to watch how different people reacted and to see natural leaders pop up in each team to get the job done.
I really enjoyed the process only because PE Dave uncomfortably shot out the Captain Obvious points of teamwork. Don't leave people behind. Don't underestimate the hidden potential. Don't be afraid of asking questions. Look out for your group. I am sure there are others.
So the results
Every team did a splendid job and showed that we all understand our Club and what we do. My personal stand out was from Sam's table. They had their own latin inscription to add an extra level of importance. It might have been: 'Semper in Excretia'. What does it mean? Very creative on several levels.
As a prize for all, (because all our teams' work was unique and wonderful), we all shared in a bunch of Jokers Wild tickets, but none of us won.....