Brief and Debrief - Hula Hoop Challenge

Describe the task *

In detail, what was the aim of the task? How many teams? What was the team dynamic? Timings?
Rules & restrictions?
For this challenge we were all put together in one big group of 5. We all had to stand together in a
circle and two of us had to put our arms through a hula hoop. What we had to try and do is get the
hula hoop all the way around in three seconds. We had as much time as possible to figure out the
solution and the rules were we couldnt let go of each other hands and the leader could not talk.
Our team was able to figure out the solution in under 10 minutes, which the event organiser found
very impressive therefore I think our team was very dynamic. This was due to great
communication, negotiation and patience we all had for one another. Also we were all very
determined to reach the goal.
What was your role in the team? *
What did you do? How did you contribute? Leader or teamworker?
I was assigned the role of the leader in this activity, however this ended up in meaning that I could
not talk for the whole activity. I ended up being very much a team worker as it was very hard for me
to express my thoughts and feelings with so many people in the group and everyone was
frantically trying to figure out the solution. In the end with some hand gestures and body language I
ended up grading everyones attention and was able to find the right solution. So even though I
ended up being a leader I did not have much say on what was going on as no one was asking me
much, instead I had to play along as a team leader.
How did you perform as an individual? *
For the M & D criteria make comparisons with other individual performances in your team and
relate to theory.
I believe that my personal performance played an important part in the teams completion of the
task due to my contribution of ideas and how half way I was able to establish a systematic
approach to the activity, which helped us figuring the right answer.
When looking at theory I think that I started of being laissez-faire. I really just let everyone do
whatever they thought was the best solution to completing the activity and let them use there full
initiative. However half way through the task I changed to an autocratic leader and started giving
instructions without any discussions as it was already hard enough for me to communicate. In
terms of the John Adair Theory my leadership approach was very much based on the task. I did
not give much interest and concern to the team and individual concept. I was just making sure the
task was getting done no matter what. Since it was such a short exercise and we didnt need to be
a team for long I didnt think it was vital to build team relationship and make sure everyone was
happy with what was going on.
When comparing to another team member Ben also took a leadership role. He was very much a
Democratic leader from the beginning as he was making decisions based on the way people were
reacting and the feedback he was giving. This process helped keep the whole group happy but
slowed everything down. In terms of the John Adair theory I feel like he was managing all three
areas evenly as he would ask individuals were ok and also check if everyone as a team was ok
with the idea and at the same time was focused on completing the task.

How did you perform as a team? *

For the M & D criteria make comparisons with other team performances and relate to theory.
As a team we started off quite sloppy. We all were thinking about ourselves and our own ideas and
we were not being very cautious and respectful to one anohter, as we would just shout out our
ideas. However after the leader created some sort of a plan of action we all started collaborating
very well and all worked fast and efficiently and this was vital to finding the answer.
The team very clearly demonstrated the Tuckmans theory. We all were put in a group and formed
quite quickly as we all new each others names. We then stormed when coming across everyone
shouting their ideas in the circle as an act of frustration for not being able to find out the answer.
We then normed when the leader organised the team and this lead us to performing and eventually
finding the solution. When we were sent back to the classroom we showed the adjourning stage.
Since there was only one team I cannot make any comparisons.
What were your strengths? *
Communication, problem solving, time management, supporting others, physical abilities,
confidence, motivation, resolving conflict, praise, questioning, body language, listening,
awareness, creativity etc
My first strengths was my problem solving. I was able to look at the activity at another angle.
Everyone was trying to come up with very complex ideas while I tried to figure out the simplest
ideas, which are normally the ones you never think about. Intact the solution to the activity is you
all run around in a circle back to your spot without moving the hula hoop, the hula hop still went all
the way round back to the beginning. My second and final strengths was my body language. I was
able to grab my teams attention and convey my thoughts and feelings quite easily, which boosted
up the time efficiency.
What were your weaknesses? *
Communication, problem solving, time management, supporting others, physical abilities,
confidence, motivation, resolving conflict, praise, questioning, body language, listening,
awareness, creativity etc
To start off with one of my main weaknesses was my motivation. I felt like it would be really hard for
me to communicate anyways so it was better to just let the others do the talking. However half way
through the activity I tried to take the reins more by using my body language. My second weakness
was my physical ability. I reckon I was one of the slowest to get through the hula hoop when we
were trying few different methods. If the solution was everyone going through the hula hoop in
under three seconds I could have held the group back a little.
How could you improve for next time? *
Make future recommendations for yourself, your team and other individuals / teams.
My personal improvements for next time would be to manage my time better by being more
motivated internally rather than expect others to motivate. This could be done by reflecting on my
positive contributions and looking at the end mutual goal the group has. The second improvement I
could have made is getting more involved. This was probably also because of my motivation. I
should try to tackle the more positively by looking at the advantages rather than the disadvantages.
This would not only increase motivation but also efficiency.
In terms of someone in the group Hailly should have tried to contribute with more ideas. I think this
was also due to a lack of motivation. To improve this she could have asked more questions to get
more involved, therefore having a necessary and vital role. This would motivate her to finish as the
team depends on her partially.

As a team we should have not rushed as much as we did. We tried every single idea one after the
other. Instead we could have taken some time to contemplate the advantages and disadvantages
of each of the strategies. This way we could have filtered out some of the solutions to save time.
Was there any conflict in the group? *
If yes, describe why and how was it resolved? If no, what did the leader do to ensure this was the
case?
We did have one short incident of conflict. This happened when everyone was trying to share their
ideas and methods to tackle the challenge. This issue was resolved by me finally grabbing their
attention and signalling with my head that we were going to try each option one by one. Apart from
that there were no other arguments.
How else could you use relevant theory to analyse the overall performance today? *
Leadership styles, Belbin, Tuckman, Adair, Honey, Margerison & Mccann, Woodcock,
The type of team we were was a temporary team as we were only put together for 10 minutes for
the purpose of finishing the task. After that we all just split off.
In terms of my leadership when looking at the Tannenbaum and Schmidt theory I started of by
giving them the empowering power. Therefore I was giving them full trust and control of event. This
was mainly because I was not allowed to speak so I was really demotivated to put in much
contribution. However after seeing things getting out of control during our storming stage I gave the
team the complete opposite power. I was telling the team what to do and how to do it to put us
back on track and in my opinion this was essential in completing the challenge.