As a class, we were thrown into the classic “deserted island game.” Although the goal was to come up with the 10 best things to bring along with us for the best chance of survival, the underlying purpose was teamwork and to expose the dynamics of the team as we worked together to come up with a solution.
did anyone emerge as the leader of our group?
No one necessarily emerged as a typical leader. I would say Jonathan showed leadership by taking initiative and being the first one to start the discussion. But, I think the rest of us also showed our initiative and creativity by building off of one another.
How did non-leaders embrace their roles?
Again, I think we all did a good job of building off of one another and each of us putting new ideas on the table. Individually, we each saw some different problems and presented solutions to solve these. This helped us to see a wide array of problems we would potentially encounter and then compile a list of things to combat any adversity.
What do you think is the primary role of a team leader? What do you think is the primary responsibility of a leader?
I believe there are different types of leaders. For example on a soccer team, the coach leads by knowing each his players’ strengths and capabilities and finding the best way to go about utilizing them. You then generally see the captain to be one of the following types: they either exceed at keeping everyone mentally focused and in good spirits or they either carry a lot of experience relative to the team so that they serve as a good example of confidence, poise, and intelligence to the rest of the team. I believe a good leader is of one of these types, and the kind of leader that Michael Lewis encourages college graduates to be in his 2012 address to Princeton is more in-line with the second variety that I presented. He stated that they should not be ignorant of the luck they have experienced to get to where they are. But to be grateful for it and further spread that hard work combined with luck is a recipe for success.
Do leaders deserve the extra cookie?
Building off of the last section, leaders have strengths and weaknesses as every other person. And further, anyone can lead in their own way. This is very easy to see with the popularization of social media. Virtually anyone can build a following and inspire others. So no, leaders don’t deserve an extra cookie. If they are a leader because of they are tough themselves and can motivate others to be tough, then they can definitely abstain from eating an extra cookie. If they are a leader because they are smart and experienced, then they should be tasked with deciding the best action for eating the extra cookie whether that be giving it to who needs it the most, splitting it for everyone, or saving it until they get more for everyone. If they are a leader but don’t serve the team more than anyone else, then they are not a leader at all.
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