Two weeks ago you all experienced a simulation called "The Big Bong Challenge." In this challenge, you were expected to put together the various "pieces" of a puzzle in order to understand the entire story.
Last class I asked the groups to discuss their experiences with the "Big Bong." Here is what several of you said:
What did you experience?
Frustration, confusion, lack of direction, boredom.
What worked?
- Having a leader, the emerging leadership, having someone who "took over".
- Interestingly, the presence of the leader did not curb frustration. Some of you observed that the problem was still the absence of a clear goal.
What went wrong?
- You clearly couldn't solve the puzzle. The key here is to find out why. You had everything you needed - in fact, one person even had the entire story. Why couldn't you put it together?
- One group said that the problem was lack of direction. Another group suggested that a key problem was the fact that not everyone could communicate (some people were given specific rules on how to communicate).
What did you learn about leadership?
- Most of you said that you understood the importance of leadership. Without a leader the groups were completely adrift.
- Interestingly, however, I observed (as an outsider) that you still appeared to be bored even after the leader emerged. Some people may have felt even MORE bored.
- The important discussion here is not THAT you were bored (of course it's a silly exercise). The important discussion is what your boredom teaches you about leading others. Under what conditions do people lose interest? What disengages people? Why would people feel disengaged even when there IS a leader?
