LE 03 VALLEY CROSSING ACTIVITY

TEAMWORK

Teamwork is defined as "work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole." Teamwork can lead to better decisions, products, or services. The quality of teamwork may be measured by analyzing the following six components of collaboration among team members: communication, coordination, balance of member contributions, mutual support, effort, and cohesion. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal.

Valley Crossing Activity

The  Task :

Task given is to switch over from left side of the valley to the right side of the valley  with  the support  of the  pole as shown in the picture. Direct jumping is not possible.

The following are the 9 steps for the valley crossing

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

In the activity all the members communicate and coordinate with each other while crossing the river. There is trust amongst each other and contribution of every team member is necessary to complete the task successfully. The task should be properly designed so that every team member is treated equally. The team roles should be properly assigned.

Ingredients for Effective Team Building:

Clear Team Goals – All members of the team must understand exactly what goals the team is striving to meet.

Trust – The team should develop interdependency on others characterized by high trust and risk taking.

Improvisation – Team needs a plan for improvement. These may be formal plans of action and milestones 

or informal  team commitments. Whatever format the plan takes, all members of the team must understand their 

role in its accomplishment.

Well Defined Roles – Every member of the team should understand exactly what role they are filling in the

 scheme of work. In addition, they should understand each other’s roles and how they interrelate.

Clear Communication – The most important ingredient of all is clear communication. The team should 

convey clear, concise messages to each other, also should keep the door open for communication and feedback.

Team Behaviour – Some behavioural practices help the team run smoothly,  these include  using  

courteous conversation  practices, seeking  opinions  and  input,  sharing  responsibility, compromising   in 

 resolving differences, employing creativity and candidness, and accepting and delivering praise  and  critiques.  

These key ingredients make up the strategy for developing high performing teams. Each ingredient needs to become a discipline that gets practiced, reinforced and refined. Only then the organisation will be able to lay  down the foundation for superior teamwork.