Reflective Essay on Team Building Activities

This reflective essay discusses the experience and lessons learned from team building activities, including leadership, communication, teamwork, and conflict and time management.

Reflective Essay
Student’s Name:
Student’s ID:

1
The team building activities had taken place in Fall Barrow. It is situated in the district of South
Lakeland in Cumbria and is one of the heritage buildings in Fall Barrow Road. Gibbs Reflective
Cycle was started by Graham Gibbs in the year 1988. This cycle motivates people’s systematic
thinking about a specific task, situation or activity. It often makes people reflect upon the
experience, task or activity in more detail, and brings a sense of awareness regarding their
activities. It enables them to adjust and modify their behavior in a better way. In the team
building activity, I, along with my team, was involved in different activities: leadership,
communication, teamwork, and conflict and time management. A leader is successful when he
can direct the team members in the right direction. Communication is one of the most essential
skills for an effective leader. Teamwork is a collective effort of the group to complete the task in
the most efficient manner within a given time frame. Time Management is basically the ability to
organize the time spent on various tasks.
On Day 1, the activity of sheep and shepherd was conducted. In this task, I undertook role of a
coordinator and delegated the plan of action to the teammates. As per Belbin results, I have 80%
natural role as a coordinator. My teammates accepted the plan and they applied it in the activity
which eventually helped us succeed. My role as a team leader was very much important as the
group members were dependent on my directions during the task. I put in all my efforts and
made sure that the target of the team was achieved. Being easily approachable and motivating the
team members from time to time, I believe I was an asset to the team (Daft and Lane, 2015).
As the task began, I planned everything systematically and considered various implications of
this task. I was able to extract work from each group member and had adequate resources. My
vision towards the task was clear and I was encouraging my colleagues to perform better (Chen
and Rybak, 2017). The task was successful as we had executed the plan efficiently and
completed the task on time. Even though my test results showed that I had attained 40% in
completer, I believe I was capable enough in leading the team and paid a lot of attention to the
task at hand.
After the completion of this task, our group was assigned a maze task where teamwork played a
significant role (Salas et al., 2015). I was assigned for the role of a guide. Working together on
this task increased the interest in myself and fostered information to both me and the team. It was

2
essential for me to understand the purpose of this task for effective teamwork. I had achieved
60% in my test results as a team worker and was very clear about my role in the team.
In my group, my leader opposed the plan which was given by me. I noticed that our group
members were not able to agree on a common purpose of this task and failed to provide clarity to
the team. I got 80% in the plant according to my Belbin’s team role. As I was too preoccupied to
communicate effectively, so my imaginative thought failed to convince my team members. I did
not follow the directions of our group leader due to difference in opinions and failed to accept
each other's views (Elizabeth, 2018). We could not finish this task on time as we did not have
proper planning before starting the task. Although I and the team had played vital roles in this
task, due to different viewpoints of the team members and lack of coordination, we failed in
completing this task on time (Scholl, 2018). I felt that I was not able to convince my plan at
beginning of this task and could not consider the various implications of this task.
On Day 2, the task was about auction of resources. We were given three opportunities in the
auction to fulfill our resources. These resources were supposed to be used in the construction of a
ball to reach the endpoint. We had finished the task successfully as we had sufficient resources.
The vision that I had towards the auction was clear. I was very organized in my planning and
considered various implications of the auction (Wallensteen, 2018).
I felt that communication was one of the vital aspects of this task. Good communication is the
key to effective teamwork. A group works well if the group members communicate well among
themselves and with the leader (Boies, Fiset and Gill, 2015). My test result indicated that I had
80% capability as an implementer in this task. I observed and planned to use the given budget in
a proper way. We had purchased the resources in the auction. I found this task to be similar to a
business deal, and it will be considered a success if the project is assigned to us. One key aspect
was sharing ideas with other members of the team during our task (Hodge and McLain, 2015).
The tasks performed by me showed that I attained 80% as a coordinator. I had learnt that creating
and executing the auction on time and also making each group member conscious of their roles
had helped them in acquiring the resources on time and so, the auction was successful. My test
result indicated that I had 10% capability as a resource investigator in this task.
There was a conflict between the group members and me regarding the resources as each
member had a different point of view. As per Barrett value test result, I got 6 for environmental

3
awareness. This task lacked effective communication during the auction (Fung, 2018). For the
sake of the task, I should have agreed on a single point. I felt that the conflict have distracted me
and my team mates, because of this there was a delay in the completion of auction on time,
putting the auction at risk. Because of my negotiation skills, we as a team got a positive result. I
have learnt that negotiating in certain situations can achieve help us to achieve positive results
(Lee et al., 2015).
On Day 1, our group had done an activity where one of our group members has to take the role
of a guide. I was an active participant in the task. According to Belbin’s role, I secured a 60% in
team work. According to this result, I was good at following directions from other team
members. I felt that it was a vital aspect for managing a task and includes skills like planning,
establishing targets and aiming for better performance (Smith, 2016). I also felt that before
planning for the task, every group member should be aware of what the task is and why it was
essential. Every group member should be included in the planning procedure of this task.
Planning must involve explaining the task and making arrangements for finishing it on time.
Team management can play a significant role in the success of any task (Oettingen et al., 2015).
We could not finish the task on time as there was a lack of proper planning before starting the
task. I felt that our group mates attempted to begin this task with unclear priorities which had led
to ineffective workflow. The group members were not clear about what is expected from them in
this task, and it distracted us from the primary motive of this task (Maxwell, 2019). Lack of
planning led towards poor time management and unfocused execution of plan (Orpen, 2015).
This diverted me from completing the task on time, and we missed the deadline for this task.
During the final stages of our activities, we were given a business task. The business task was to
provide maximum return on investment by running a manufacturing firm which would operate
from my base in Fall Barrow Hall. We were given one day to finish this task and cash of £100.
We had to earn £7500 in order to finish this task. I found it similar to a business deal. (Kaindl,
Hoch and Popp, 2017). My performance in this task showed that I attained 80% as a coordinator
and implementer, while I got 40% as a completer and 30% as a specialist. While showing pride
in the field, I failed to inspire other members of my team.
I had done the task “Fall Barrow Tunnel” for the first time. This task had been evidenced by my
group instructor. One hundred widgets were earned by our team at the end of this task. I had

4
taken the task “Mohawk Walk” as a challenge as it had the highest widget. I had coordinated and
implemented my own ideas to finish the task in one go. This task was witnessed by one of my
tutors. Three hundred widgets were earned by our team at the end of this task. Team work and
communication between group members had played crucial roles in this task (Smith, 2016).
I found the task “Escape from Rope Handcuffs” to be tricky. This task was witnessed by my
instructor. I got 80% as a coordinator. One hundred and seventy-five widgets were earned by our
team at the end of this task. My friend and I communicated well to finish this activity. We were
given 20 minutes to solve this task, so I had to be imaginative before starting this activity.
Communication played a very significant role for me in building a team and extracting the best
from the group members (Newton and Bristol, 2019).
We had to arrange the correct formation of a bridge by utilizing the wooden blocks in Web
Bridge task. We could not finish this task on time as we lacked proper planning. I did not look at
the available resources and thus had no clear picture of this task. The Belbin’s role states that, I
have 10% as a resource investigator. This test result shows that, I am lacking in investigating the
resources. The feedback that I got from my team mates was that I had a natural outlook while
finishing the task Number Cruncher and found it easy while doing the physical tasks.
Teamwork had played a vital role in this task as I could see that every group member was
enthusiastic about finishing this task on time even though we had less time to complete the task.
We had to be very quick in order to finish the task. We took four trails and finished the task
successfully on time (Orpen, 2015). My personality test showed that I had 40% as completer, as I
could recognize the correct path and finish my part successfully.
My group members had given me the feedback that I am competent in sharing the plan and
useful in implementing that plan. As shown by my Belbin test score, I’m an 80% implementer.
They had also told me that I am a good team worker and I do proper planning before starting any
task. Though they criticized me for some of my weaknesses, I took it as a positive feedback in
order to work on them and make them my strengths in future. I was told that I could be more
effective if I improved my skill of explaining my opinions. I need to overcome my confusion
before and during the tasks. I have to explore my plans for better outcomes. I have 3%
preference of intuition over sensing and 16% preference of perceiving over judging.

5
I have realized after the completion of team building activities that any planning without a clear
vision will lead to failure of the tasks (Gutman, 2018). We all need to understand the benefits of
resources for better outcomes and avoid poor time management. I have also realized that good
teamwork is essential for implementing the point of view of any leader in the given task.
These tasks have given me a better understanding of the concepts of leadership, communication,
teamwork, and conflict and time management. I have to be more creative in my planning and
activities and discuss with my group members regarding the plan and tasks. I have to be clearer
while planning for better performance and outcomes. My personality test had implied that I had
26% preference of extraversion over introversion and 41% preference of thinking over feeling.
I have a supportive behavior according to the Situational Leadership Model. I believe coaching
and participating leadership style require a highly supportive behavior. Coaching leadership
allowed me to provide directions and make decisions. I could also motivate my team members
and explain my choices to them.
Participating leadership allowed me and my team mates to be more independent in
accomplishing the tasks and enabled us to take decisions while facilitating problem-solving
skills. I had achieved 7 in self-awareness and social awareness. I could share my ideas with my
group before taking any final decision. A leader shows high supportive behavior by quickly
recognizing and proving the required support to the team (Bosse et al., 2017).
The essay evaluated five fields in team building activities, leadership, communication,
teamwork, and conflict and time management under the event tasks section. The test results were
analyzed by Belbin's Team Roles, The Global EI Test Results, Barrett values test and the
Personality Test. A business task had been assessed, and the business task was to give maximum
return on investment by running a manufacturing firm which would operate in Fall Barrow Hall.
Feedback was also provided to the student which had from my group members. The situational
leadership model had shown supportive behavior of the student.

6
References
Boies, K., Fiset, J., and Gill, H., 2015. Communication and trust are key: Unlocking the
relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity. The Leadership
Quarterly, 26(6), pp.1080-1094.
Bosse, T., Duell, R., Memon, Z.A., Treur, J., and van der Wal, C.N., 2017. Computational
model-based design of leadership support based on situational leadership theory.
Simulation, 93(7), pp.605-617.
Chen, M.W. and Rybak, C., 2017. Group leadership skills: Interpersonal process in group
counseling and therapy. SAGE Publications, 39(4), pp.230-238.
Daft, R. and Lane, P., 2015. Leadership. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 54(8), pp.56-67.
Elizabeth, G.N., 2018. The role of the administration in team building and development of an
organisation. ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 8(7), pp.43-
46.
Fung, H.P., 2018. The Influence of Leadership Roles and Team Building & Participation on
Team Shared Mental Models: A Study of Project Managers in Malaysia. Revista de
Administração de Roraima-UFRR, Boa Vista, 8(2), pp.230-259.
Gutman, D., 2018. TEAMWORK TROUBLE. HarperCollins Childrens B, 75(8) pp.95-116.
Hodge, F. and McLain, M., 2015. Play directing: Analysis, communication, and style. Focal
Press, 20(7), pp. 56-67.
Kaindl, H., Hoch, R. and Popp, R., 2017, May. Semantic task specification in the business
process context. In 2017 11th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information
Science (RCIS), 80(7), pp. 286-291.
Lee, C.C., Lin, Y.H., Huang, H.C., Huang, W.W. and Teng, H.H., 2015. The effects of task
interdependence, team cooperation, and team conflict on job performance. Social Behavior and
Personality: an international journal, 43(4), pp.529-536.
Maxwell, J., 2019. Good Leaders Ask Great Questions: Your Foundation for Successful
Leadership. 5th ed. [ebook] Center Street, pp.1-288. Available at: https://www.amazon.in/Good-

7
Leaders-Ask-Great-Questions-ebook/dp/B00NPCWLK2?tag=googinhydr18418-
21&tag=googinkenshoo-
21&ascsubtag=_k_CjwKCAjw7MzkBRAGEiwAkOXexMGmZDBxxYrbpxCkxLFSveAUuR6y
5PgSu1QwJ6C8jiM_L16t74AH3RoClOMQAvD_BwE_k_&gclid=CjwKCAjw7MzkBRAGEiw
AkOXexMGmZDBxxYrbpxCkxLFSveAUuR6y5PgSu1QwJ6C8jiM_L16t74AH3RoClOMQAv
D_BwE [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019]. .
Newton, P. and Bristol, H., 2019. Team Building. 9th ed. [ebook] pp.1-38. Available at:
http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/dldebk/dlld-building.htm [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].
Oettingen, G., Kappes, H.B., Guttenberg, K.B., and Gollwitzer, P.M., 2015. Self‐regulation of
time management: Mental contrasting with implementation intentions. European Journal of
Social Psychology, 45(2), pp.218-229.
Orpen, C., 2015. The effect of time-management training on employee attitudes and behavior: A
field experiment. The Journal of Psychology, 128(4), pp.393-396.
Salas, E., Shuffler, M.L., Thayer, A.L., Bedwell, W.L. and Lazzara, E.H., 2015. Understanding
and improving teamwork in organizations: A scientifically based practical guide. Human
Resource Management, 54(4), pp.599-622.
Scholl, W., 2018. Effective teamwork—A theoretical model and a test in the field.
In Understanding group behavior, 50(3), pp. 127-146.
Smith, V., 2016. Impact of team building on the workplace: giving employees a chance to
collaborate. Journal of Aesthetic Nursing, 5(6), pp.308-309.
Wallensteen, P., 2018. Understanding conflict resolution. SAGE Publications Limited, 45(6), pp.
817-823.

8
Belbin’s Team Roles

9
The Global EI Test Results
Personality Test