Reflective Essay on Leadership and Teamwork

This reflective essay discusses the experiences and lessons learned during a trip with MBA students, focusing on leadership, teamwork, effective social interaction, communication skills, and personal attributes. The essay highlights specific tasks and the author's reflections on their performance and areas for improvement.

1
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
I was very excited when I found out that we were going on a trip to gain some personal
experience in leadership, team working, effective social interaction, communication skills, and
personal attributes.Our trip was started with a big group of 22 MBA students. The teams were
randomly divided, and the groups were made into small groups. We were 6 students in our group
and the trip was for 3 days. There were overall 10 tasks involved in the whole trip. On Day 1, we
had 5 tasks, Task 1 had no name, and other tasks were maze task, sheep and shepherd task,
solving the puzzle task and the obstacles task. Day 2 had two tasks, the task of buying and selling
of materials and a business activity. A business activity was also considered and it four many
tasks; rope task, tunnel task, canoe task and pamper bamboo task. This trip was a great
experience for me as well as for my other group members.
On Day 1, the activity 1 was started with 6 students those who have We completed the task about
70 to 80% with the lot of team work. I played best role as good teamwork
Instructor: All of you have to travel from one side to another side with the help of boxes without
touching the ground.
Me: Can we start from any side?
Instructor: Yes,
Another Group Member: Ok. I have 1 question. If we touch the ground?
Instructor: Touching the ground is nor allowed. You will disqualified from the task.
For Task 1, I felt that we took more time to understand the task and so we had very less time to
complete the task. I had gained knowledge that teamwork is the joint effort of a team for
completing the task most efficiently. I worked together on this task with the other group
members and enhanced the interests of the team for more ideas and provided information to the
team members. My team members also agreed with me on the common motive to provide
transparency within the group team to make it a successful task. As a team worker, I had attained
5 in relationship management.
The activity 3 was a sheep and shepherd task, I was the only person who was not able to reach
the right place on the given time. The instructor was one of our group member with the whistle.

2
Remaining members in the group were considered as sheep. For Task 3, I felt that I took too
much time to listen and understand the instructions of the instructor. For Task 3, I feel I have to
improve my listening skills.
Instructor: All your eyes will be closed during the task. I will help all the team members to move
to the right place.
Other Group Members. Ok
Me to Instructor: Can you please repeat the instructions? I cannot hear you due to some noises.
Instructor: Yes surely. All your eyes will be closed during the task. I will help all the team
members to move to the right place.
Me: Ok. Now I am clear about the task.
Before starting the task:-
Me: I have some idea regarding the task. I want to share it with all of you.
Other Group Members: No. We had too much time to listen to your ideas. We are already late.
Me: But, it will take few minutes.
Other members: We are already late. Let us start the task.
Me: Ok.
In Task 3, other group members did not accept my ideas and thoughts before starting the task due
to lack of time. I came to know that I have to improve my listening skills which is one of the
communication skills. A good listener is one of the best methods to be a good communicator. If
one is not a good listener, it will be difficult to understand what one is being asked to do. One
must not only able to communicate effectively; he or she must listen to the other persons and
participate in their interaction with the other persons. I had attained 2 in listening skills.
The execution of task 4 provided me immense learning regarding the solving of various issues.
Instructor: The task is to solve the puzzle where all of you have to solve the puzzle with the
wooden planks and construct the bridge.
Group Members: Ok.
Instructor: 6 people will be divided into two groups with 3 members in each group.

3
Group Members: Ok.
In Task 4, as soon as the construction of bridge started, in the middle of it, the lot of confusion
aroused and all the team members. Then, I used my leadership skills to resolve the issues and
confusion with the help of transformational leadership theory. I have 9% preference of intuition
over sensing and 34% preference for judging over perceiving. For Task 4, I felt that the group
members were involved in unnecessary confusions. I motivated my team member’s focus so that
they could finish the task.
Me: Listen, all of you listen to me.
Other Group Members: (angrily) What?
Me: All of us need to make a plan so that we can all come to a common point and avoid
confusion.
Other Group Members: Ok.
Me: Let us make a plan.
Other Group Members: Ok.
Me: 3 members will bring the wooden planks and other 3 will construct the bridge.
Other Group Members: Ok. We will do according to the plan.
Me: Ok, Then let us start the task again.
Other Group Members: Yes, let us start the task according to the plan.
Me: Yes.
For Task 4, I was feeling that although the task was completed successfully on time, I could have
started motivating much earlier. I had attained 11 in natural reactions which had shown that I am
not easily upset with the stressful situations.
I came to know effective social interaction is a communication between two or more persons
within the society. By communicating with each other in the society, individuals make rules,
systems, and institutions in the society which seek to live. It is the way an individual talk and
behaves with one another and different structure in the society. It might consist of interactions
with a group which has been created out of a need to build order in the interactions itself. I have
a high extraversion that is 81% which shows that I am an outgoing, friendly, assertive person and

4
like to work with other people. I had a 50% preference of extraversion over introversion.
Task 5 was obstacles where we had travelled from one side to another side without touching the
ground. For this Task, I felt that proper teamwork has not taken place and a proper understanding
of this task was not done. For Task 5, I felt that there was a lack of leadership and teamwork. In
Task 5, we could not finish the task successfully due to lack of collaboration among the team
members. I had attained 15 in open to experience which had shown that I had lacked the
experience to lead a team.
I had gained the information that personal attributes are related to communication with people
around us. A team leader wants his team members to get along well with each other. People with
personal skills have the possibility to work well in groups. Demonstrating such skills impress the
leaders and also lead to future opportunities for more teamwork. I has achieved 65% in
conscientiousness.
On Day 2, the first task provided me knowledge regarding the concepts of buying and selling.
Task 1 was to buy and sell the materials which were used for constructing the way and make the
ball to travel from one end to another. I was the salesperson and had to sell the products from
our company. We planned for the meeting and discussed the positives and negatives of the Day
2. It was a matter of fact that the issues that occurred on the previous day needs to be resolved in
order to continue the tasks effectively. I felt that I lacked negotiation skills, time management,
and resource management. My personality test results had shown that I had got 5 in creativity, 3
in efficiency, 2 in friendship and 5 in relationship management.
On Day 2, in Task 1, in my opinion we could not get any profits because the opposite team was
very strict on their purchase, they got the information before purchase from the previous batches,
so they had planned according to that information. Both the teams could not be able to do the
task due to lack of equipment. On Day 2, for Task 1, I feel that I have to improve my time
management and resource management.
The primary motive of the Task 2 on Day 2 was to execute a business activity in which we were
to sell widgets to the customers to receive profits. There were two tasks involved in this activity,
rope task and tunnel task. In rope task, all the people had to walk on the rope from one side to
another side without touching the ground. In tunnel task, our team member had to pass from start
to end of the tunnel. In this task, I had planned for the rope task. In this task, my group members

5
followed my plan for the rope task. For Task 2, I feel that my plan for the rope task has
successfully worked. For Task 2, I felt that teamwork, motivation and leadership qualities were
helpful for the rope task. I had attained 5 in relationship management.
In second task, I had completed the tunnel task successfully. In second task, the tunnel task was
completed successfully by another member of my team beside me. For Task 2, I felt that self-
motivation worked for both of us for tunnel task. For Task 2, I feel that the other team members
lacked the self-motivation for the tunnel task. I have achieved 51% in logical thinking
On 3, we performed two more tasks, canoe task and pamper pole task. Canoe task was to find out
the place in the river, and we had to dive the canoe and return back to the place from where we
started. These tasks helped me in gathering knowledge that in the pamper pole task, there was a
big pole that the team members had to climb on the top of the pole and jump to the ball. On Day
3, in Task 2, I led the team for the canoe task. I have attained 65% in assertiveness.