MD4043: Reflective Essay on Strategic Management and Leadership

This essay provides a reflective overview of a student's experience during a minefield game, analyzing the emotions and lessons learned related to strategic management and leadership. The author recounts a specific incident where a controversial penalty led to frustration and conflict within the team. The essay details the strategies employed to overcome these challenges, emphasizing the importance of teamwork, communication, and maintaining composure under pressure. Furthermore, the reflection connects the experience to Tuckman's stages of group development, illustrating how the team evolved through forming, storming, norming, and performing stages. The author concludes by highlighting the significance of leadership in guiding a team towards a common goal, even in the face of adversity, and acknowledges the personal growth achieved through this experience. Desklib is a great platform to find solved assignments and learning resources for students.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
Strategic Management and Leadership
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
they will say: we did it ourselves.”
The above quoted lines of Lao Tzu clearly indicate the role of an effective leader and
the goal which he or she needs to achieve. Leadership can be defined as the ability or the
capability of an individual to lead other individuals or groups towards the achievement of
their desired goals or objectives (Goleman 2017). In the opinion of Jaques and Clement
(1994), “Leadership is that process in which one person sets the purpose or direction for one
or more other persons and gets them to move along together with him or her and with each
other in that direction with competence and full commitment”. It is significant to note that the
various scholars as well as critics have different definitions of the concept of leadership
however all them agree on the common point that it is the ability of an individual to influence
the behaviour of other individuals and also to lead them towards the achieve of their common
objective or goal (Daft 2014). Thus, this concept is used by the various business organisations
for the process of guiding their workforce and also for the achievement of their common goal
or objective (Yukl 2013). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the concept of leadership is
used by the various business organisations to bring about their overall growth as well as
development. In this particular paper I will try to give an overview of an incident in which I
was involved in and in particular will give an overview of the emotions which I felt at that
point of time.
The incident which I am about to narrate happened sometime back when I and my
friends were a part of the mine field games. I would like to say first of all that mine field
games are one of the most “collaborative game involving teamwork and trust between the
members” (Gallant 2011). This particular game not only requires an active collaboration of
each and every member of the team but also the co-operation of all the members of the team
is very essential in this particular game. For this particular game, you are required to carry a

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piece of wooden log and four plastic boxes through a ring to the other side of the ring. I
clearly recall that there were some eleven of us and we made two teams-one of six members
including myself and the other one of five members. The game started on a very positive note
however soon the other team started being aggressive and started complaining that the game
was not fair to them as they were playing with only five and we were playing with six
players. I would like to say that this was the particular point during which the trouble started
brewing. Thus, when my turn came to perform I carried the piece of wooden log and the four
pieces of plastic boxes to the other side of the ring but in the middle passage my leg touched
a part of the ring and I was adjourned for almost five minutes and my team had to play with
only five members. This is the incident on which I would like to focus on at this particular
point of time.
I would like to comment here that when I was adjourned for the duration of five
minutes I was very angry as I was sure that I had the penalty for touching the ring merely
once did not lead to a penalty of almost five minutes. Therefore, I called my team and tried to
explain to them the thing which had just happened. I myself was very infuriated with the
other team and the referee for not seeing the thing which had actually happened and thereby
making a decision which was completely wrong. Moreover, I was also very angry with the
opponent team as well for supporting the mistake of the referee and trying to take the help of
this opening to make progress in the game. Therefore, I called up my team members and tried
to explain to them the thing which had happened and also tried to explain to them the strategy
which the other team was trying to use. Initially, just like me the members of my team were
also very infuriated and wanted to openly confront the referee as well as the other members
of the other team. However, I tried to reason with them and also tried to explain to them that
this was the exact thing which they wanted us to do so that they can disqualify more of our
team members and go way with an easy win. Thus, I ask them to keep their cool and calm

3STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
and play the game in a proper and ethical manner. I would like to say that after the initial
phase of disagreement all the members of my team agreed to this particular advice and they
went to the main area where the game was been played to resume the game.
I would like to comment here that after my team mates went back to the playing area
the onslaught of the other team started again. The other team was bent upon playing an
aggressive game no matter what and they showed their intentions from the very moment the
game resumed. This was obviously very infuriating for my team as they knew exactly what
the other team was trying to do and also the reason for which the referee was not saying
anything to them. I called by a sign one of my team members to the area where I was
confined and asked him to convey the message to the other members of the team that they are
not to use any form of aggression on the other team and play in as fair a manner as possible. I
did not want my team to use any unfair means for the purpose of gaining a victory. I would
rather have my team following fair means than win using unfair means.
I would like to say here that at this particular point of time I myself was starting to
feel frustrated and losing my calm. At this particular point of time when I turned my attention
to the playing area I saw that the other team was having an argument with my team members
and another of my team members for adjourned for five minutes. He obviously was very
infuriated with the decision as it was clear that he had not touched the ring with his leg or any
other part of his body. I tried to calm him down and make him see reason. However, by this
point of time my adjournment time of five minutes was over and I was summoned back to the
field. On reaching to our side of the playing area my team mates welcomed me with a
cheering shout and the other team in order to bring down our morale replicated it with a
jeering one. However, by this point of time I was determined to win the game not matter the
amount of labor which I or my team mates will have to put. Thus, I made a strategy with my
team mates in a bid to outrival the other team. The strategy was that we would show them we

4STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
are unable to perform on par with them and on top of that we are even having an internal
discord and when the deciding moment comes we would surprise them with our effective and
combined team effort. This strategy worked very beautifully for us as soon our other
adjourned team mate also returned to our side and we faked a team discord which was
welcomed by the other team with smiles and cheers and after some taking our fake discord to
be real they relaxed their guard and started playing casually and it was at this point of time
that we decided to capitalize on the moment and showed our team effort to them and were
able to outrival them by our collective and combined team effort.
I would like to comment here that although it was a simple mine game where I and
my team members participated and won the game. However, now I when I reflect back I
would like to say that apart from winning the mine game I and team members were also able
to learn many things from the situation. The primary thing which I think that I was able to
learn from the incident was the importance of the concept of team work and team
collaboration. I would to comment here that although I was familiar with the concept of team
work and team effort but had never believed in its important. However, this particular
incident made me realize the importance of the concept of team effort and the importance of
collaboration among all the members of the team. Now I can actually relate the entire process
of our team bonding and our collective effort with “Tuckman’s stages of group
development”. In this particular model of Tuckman, he states four stages which are very
important for the formation of an effective team. The four stages narrated by him are
“forming, storming, norming and performing” (Salmon, Stanton and Jenkins 2017). The
forming refers to the stage of the initial formation of the group and when the different persons
who are new are each other are brought together (Seck and Helton 2014). In our particular
context this can refer to the stage when we actually formed the team. The second stage in the
“Tuckman’s stages of group development” refers to the stage of storming (Galegher, Kraut

5STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
and Egido 2014). This is the stage when the various members of the team are initially not
known to each other and therefore al, kinds of misunderstandings ensue among them (Seck
and Helton 2014). In our particular incident, this can refer to the phase when my team
members believed the verdict of the referee and other team that I had committed the foul and
also when I asked them to pay fairly and not to lose their temper. The third stage in the
“Tuckman’s stages of group development” refers to the stage when the initial conflicts and
misunderstandings are resolved and the individual members of the team start to act like a part
of the team (Seck and Helton 2014). Therefore, in our particular case, this stage can refer to
the stage when the all our doubts were removed and we all agreed on the common strategy
which we were to follow to win the game and outrival our competitors. The fourth stage in
the “Tuckman’s stages of group development” is the stage when the diverse entities of the
team actually start performing as a cohesive unit (Seck and Helton 2014). This stage in our
particular case can refer to the stage when after agreeing to the strategy proposed by me
everyone of the team members started to follow the strategy proposed by me and again when
I gave the cue they started performing as a cohesive team. Now, when I look back at the mine
game I find myself correlating the collective effort of our and the “Tuckman’s stages of
group development”.
I would also like to comment here that the incident taught me the importance of the
concept of leadership and more specifically the role of a leader. The concept of leadership has
attracted my attention and curiosity from an early age. However, after the incident I started
preparing for my exams and it was there that I got a more clear idea about the concept of
leadership and its various precepts. I would also like to comment here that now when I look
back and try to interpret the incident I feel that that was one of the earliest instances in my
life when I displayed my leadership skills. I would also like to add here that since that
particular incident I have got several incidents to display my leadership skills but I would like

6STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
to say here that the skills used by me during that particular incident are a fond memory. In the
opinion of many people, “Leadership is the behavior of an individual when he is directing the
activities of a group toward a shared goal”(Lussier and Achua 2015). Thus, would like to add
here that displaying the ability to lead the other members of my team towards victory I was in
a way displaying the precepts of leadership. I would also like to comment here that during the
course of my studies I came across a statement of Roy T. Bennett on leadership where he
says “You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at
the end of your comfort zone” (Antonakis and Day 2017). In the light of this particular
comment of Roy T. Bennett I would like to say that in the particular context under discussion
here I had to come out of my comfort zone not only to win the game but also to lead the team
in an effective manner. Many people are of the opinion that “Leadership is the
accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. A leader is the one who
successfully marshals his human collaborators to achieve particular ends”(Beck and Cowan
2014). Thus, it would be fair to say that in the light of this particular definition of leadership I
displayed a fair bit of my leadership skills during the course of the game. Furthermore, I
would to add another aspect of the incident here. In the opinion of Eleanor Roosevelt, “To
handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart”. In the light of this particular
quote of Eleanor Roosevelt I would like to say that I was able to lead my team in a more
effective manner by having an effective control over myself. I controlled myself when I was
adjourned from the game even when I was not at fault and even controlled my anger when
me and my team were greeted with jeers by the other team. Thus, I would say that by having
an effective control over myself i was able to lead my team in a much better manner.
To conclude, leadership is a very important part of the various business organisations
and the business organisations often take the help of this particular concept to bring about the
process of their overall growth as well as development. In addition to that, the various

7STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
business organisations often take the help of diverse effective for the achievement of the
goals as well as the objectives set by them. Another concept which plays a vital role in the
performance of the various business organisations is the concept of team work. It is
commonly seen that the organisational performance of a particular business organisation
depends on the kind of co-ordination which the members of the various teams of the business
organisation have among themselves.

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References
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technological foundations of cooperative work. Psychology Press.
Gallant, M. 2011. Teambuilding exercise for building trust: navigating the mine field.
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168.

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