Everest Simulation Summary

I volunteered to be an observer for the Everest Simulation, and I learned a lot by observing participants Interact with one another. As I walked around each group, I quickly realized that I wasn't going to learn as much about the simulation by observing each group; I had to focus on one team and observe their work. As a result, I watched one team and learned many Important management skills, such as leadership, planning and controlling, setting team and Individual goals, and communication.The students were placed into teams of flee members who had only known each there for approximately six weeks. In standard businesses, teams may know each other for months, years, or possibly decades. What made this simulation difficult is that students had five hours to collaborate, analyze their roles and responsibilities, and communicate while some businesses take months or years to get their teams in synch. I was beyond impressed with what I observed.Aside from learning the responsibilities and goals of the leader, photographer, environmentalist, marathoner, and physician, I learned more Important lessons that apply to all successful organizations. First of all, communication is key. If only one or two members speak up, groups assume everyone Is In agreement. Everybody must speak up; this means each member must have honest and direct conversations, ask questions, acknowledge errors, and offer ideas.Additionally, listening is just as important as communication skills. Next, because trust is the foundation to a successful company, and these groups did not have the time most successful companies have to build trust, I realized that trust can be created quickly by successfully doing the following things: staying true to your commitments; being ones; being authentic; being clear and concise when communicating (especially when you only have three hours to complete a project); crediting others; and of course, listening.There are other ways to build trust, but these were the comm on takeaways from observing the groups that were the most successful with the simulation. Developing and maintaining trust Is critical to successful businesses, and the team I focused on was successful because they had confidence In each member of the team. Even though each climber has to monitor his or her health, watch the weather, ND choose travel speed, they must avoid getting an illness such as frostbite, injuries, or an illness.Even though each member has individual goals, the team goals must be met to accumulate as many points as possible. The team I observed realized that each members' goals don't always coincide with the rest of the team. This can cause challenges, arguments, and eventually reduce the points they already earned. This taught me that one member's goals and being competitive Is not the way to have a successful team or create a final product. Another key characteristic I observed was that each member must share all Information.If a teammate kept Information to themselves, It hurt the team as a whole, which ties Into communication, climate of trust, and ultimately team effectiveness. Important task. Being that he or she could earn the most amount of points, the leader calmly listened to each members' ideas and reasoning before making a decision without criticizing, picking apart, or finding fault in one's idea. Instead, he or she listened to each member, made him or her feel like they were contributing to the group, and ultimately brought up the morale of the team.After listening to all ideas, she made the decision whether or not to move to the next camp. It was interesting for me to see that although the leader made the decision, the group felt pleased with the decision because they were all heard. Successful leaders have visions, missions, and goals, but most importantly, make the team feel like a legitimate team. There were other groups I observed that disagreed about many decisions, mainly because members were not being heard, and two or three people were making most of the decisions. It's important that all team members are heard.The simulation is a great experience for students and employees. There were at least ten lessons learned in Just three hours, and each student enjoyed the experience. It taught me that communication and diversity are integral to groups and the workforce. If everybody had the same opinion, we would not be challenged. Each member brought unique strengths, comments, questions, and concerns to the group, and most importantly, they communicated effectively. I must say, being that I am not a fan of cold weather, this was the best Mount Everest climb I have ever experienced.