Leadership and Management: Reflections on an MBA Residential Trip

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The entire writing would be focused on the experience that I had on the MBA residential
trip to the Crostwaithe Mill, fall barrow hall, Lake District. It would provide intense and detailed
analysis on my personal experiences/emotions and reflective analysis of my motives/behavior
and feelings i.e., why I did something like that and how I felt about it, how others in the
residential trip made me feel and so on. This would be done through regressive
acknowledgement of the human psychology. Human psychology and behavior has a diverse
nature and the psychology that one holds or builds up actually decides the behavior of the
person. Behavior is a reflection of what psychology one holds and it also reflects the actual
beliefs and the values of the person. A person could be accessed through analyzing his behavior
and actions which on acknowledging could provide the psychology that the person holds (Card,
2018). It is believed that the person builds up his basic psychology during his childhood and this
is the time when the child or the person actually sows the seeds of the mentality that would grow
in the future (Clayton and Myers, 2015).The experience of residential trip has impacted me
strongly because of the variability in the behavior and nature I experienced throughout the trip.
On the trip, there were three tasks which were provided to be done with a group of about five
members which consisted of both men and women. The tasks which were planned actually
reflected the tuning of each member with each other and the capability of understanding each of
the members (Daus et al. 2005). The trip which I experienced has actually helped me in
understanding my hidden and unrealized qualities which was revealed through the activities and
the tasks which were practiced or done on the trip. The various activities that I took part in on the
trip actually demanded the qualities of a leader, and management. The various emotional and
intelligence tests are available through which one could understand or judge his capabilities of
leadership one of which is the Belbin’s Team Role Test. The test helps in testing the coordinator,
implementer, specialize, shaper and monitor evaluator and other roles that a leader needs to play
or perform. On acknowledging the Belbin’s Team Role test I have received the result f being an
implementer, specialist, shaper, monitor evaluator and coordinator. These five premises have
been rightly marked on the trip through the execution of tasks in an appropriate manner. Through
the test it has also been realized that I carry the features of extrovert, enthusiastic and
communicative. These features or qualities are actually the qualities of a leader and thus, to some
extent it has been realized that I can lead a group of people in an accurate manner.

The tasks included the involvement of each and every member that too with severe sincerity and
dedication. The task demanded the members to be sensitive enough to sense the urgency and
the responsibility towards each members, accuracy which would help in recieving the orders or
instruction the leader in an accurate manner, dedication towards the group which would help in
winning the task, faith in each of the members and target to be achieved by the end of the task
(Cooley, 2017). These five premises were demanded in each of the task and the presence of each
of the premises in the group would actually have helped in winning over all the other three
groups (Davies et al. 1998). Though my experience has been quite different and initially I
considered it to be an irrelevant and casual experience but gradually as I realized the changes that
has taken place in me after the incident, has made me realized that the tasks were framed with a
different motive and after sheer analysis of human psychology.
On acknowledging my reactions and the way I behaved in the tasks it has made me feel that the
concept of me being enthusiastic, communicative and an extrovert through the Belbin’s Test
Theory, were actually not relevant to me. First and foremost, my experience in this residential
trip has been quite strongly impacted me because of the variability in the behavior and nature I
experienced throughout the trip. According to Belbin report my team role contribution is 80% as
a resource investigator and an implementer. It shows my capacity for practical efficiency and
strong organizing qualities which present me with broad-ranging opportunities for the future.
The foremost task where I was the leader of the group and I had to instruct other sheeps that is
the members through the act of whistling actually worked out because of my team members
being intensely active and sensitive to the scenario and not because I carried the leadership
quality (George, 2000). The MBA residential trip has been one of the experiences where I have
actually realized some of the hidden qualities within me and as well have acknowledged some of
the qualities which need to be developed. The foremost task where I was the leader with four
more members, I actually carried out the task in an effective manner through utilizing my
coordinator, and specialized qualities (Cooley, 2017). The task required the coordination
between the leader and the members as the members have to move in the correct direction on
being instructed through whistle of the leader. This revealed that I am a good coordinator as the
characteristic of a coordinator includes the ability to cause others to work which got revealed
through my ability of creating a team who followed my instruction as a whole and not an
individuals. The time management quality as also revealed in this task which t6hough lies on an