Leading at the Edge weekend: The team that "belays" together, stays together

Rock Climbing Challenge

October 1st-3rd was my cohort's Leading at the Edge weekend. This entailed three days of intense mental and physical challenges that targeted individual leadership styles and group dynamics. This weekend took place at a nature reserve call "The Nature Place" in Florissant, CO.

The experience itself was very demanding, first we were divided by our assigned groups of 10-13 MBA students then we were taught orienteering skills and sent off to complete multiple challenges. The immediate objective was to get the team to navigate to a series of locations based on compass barrings and typography maps. However, the ultimate goal was to learn how to tailor communication skills to individuals. Prior to going on the trip, each student listed two ways to effectively communicate with them, what they brought to the team, and how not to communicate with them. This was based off the Insights and CareerLeader Assessments that we took during orientation. This knowledge was very useful during the edge weekend because it clearly states how you can clearly convey a message based upon the individuals preference. Although this is always easier said than done, it was great to put it to practice.

Another interesting aspect of the weekend included developing more self-awareness in regards to personal capabilities, fears, and leadership styles. There were a few times in which I may have strategically reasoned through a challenge scenario by gathering everyone together to discuss the pertinent arguments/opinions of everyone before we made a decision. Other times I had to stand back and reflect on how I could have done other things differently. I was also faced with intangible challenges such as my fear of heights. There were multiple opportunities during the ropes course to push myself beyond fear for my team and myself. I discovered that, although fear is a very strong deterrent, the power of a supportive team and resonance can go beyond limitations and can allow a team to reach new levels.

Overall, the weekend was a very non-traditional way for a business school to incorporate the reading topics of team dynamics, systems thinking, reasoning, critical thinking, and leadership into a physically/mentally exhausting experience.

“If we see the bigger picture, look back to find out why, what, where beliefs come from, we may be able to see with more clarity and accept a medium point”

- James O’Toole (Why we disagree)