Teamwork and Leadership Brief and Debrief Exercise 1:

Minefield
Name: *
Dominic Clark
Describe the task *
In detail, what was the aim of the task? How many teams? What was the team dynamic?
Timings? Rules & restrictions?
In teams of two, the aim of this task was to get your blindfolded partner across a minefield
that was set up. This minefield is a map that was set up by the leader of the activity, plotting
points on an unseen sheet of paper, specifying exactly where the mines are, and when stepping
on one he would call out boom. The aim of the task was to be the first team to get across the
minefield, without stepping on any mines. If a team member does step on a mine, they must
go back to the start and wait their turn. There were three teams of two in our activity. The
team dynamic was excited, the leader of the three teams seemed to have lead and motivated
their partner well. At times, the individual that was blindfolded found it a little frustrating
when they accidentally stepped on a line.
The rules were that any team member, can only progress by one square at a time during the
activity. Once the individual is deemed safe then they can proceed to the next step. A move
on the minefield can be made in any direction. Teams must take the activity in turns, whoever
reaches the end on their turn first wins. There was no specified time limit for the task, but we
concluded the task after about 20 minutes.
What was your role in the team? *
What did you do? How did you contribute? Leader or teamworker?
In my team, I played the role of guiding my parter through the field by using speech. I think
that I adopted the role of a leader because I lead the other member of our team through the
minefield. I was only allowed to use a selection of words, and I was not allowed to get into any
physical contact with my partner.
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.
As an individual, I believe that I performed reasonably well, making very little error during the
process. As I was the only member of the team that was physically able to see and gave all of
the instructions, I had the clear leadership role. In the task, I had no choice but to adopt an
autocratic leadership style as I was the only one that was able to see what was going on in the
task, and my team member was unable to identify what was going on. My team member was
unable to assist in the decision making process, it was down to me to make the calls on behalf

of the team. This was eective because I was able to tell exactly what was going on in the task
and I was able to see other teams make their way through the minefield.
I think that I managed the team well, even though we did not manage to win. We managed to
just make it to the second last square, before hitting a mine. In the task, I had to show the
quality of being compassionate, because of how frustrating it was for my partner. I had to
make sure he always felt that I was to give a next instruction, and that he could trust my calls.
In the task, I had to balance between a task and people orientated leadership style. I had to
make sure that my partner felt comfortable with the task, whilst trying to lead our pair to
success.
In comparison to one of the leaders in the other team, I believe that I had more of a peopleorientated approach. I checked with my partner at multiple points if he was comfortable and if
he was ready to progress on the minefield. That leader at times, left their partner standing in
the middle of the minefield whilst they were thinking, possibly leaving their team member to
become frustrated with the task and maybe even cause a mistake.
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 performed well because I gave clear and concise instructions and my partner
managed to respond to this by listening carefully at the calls and react to them accordingly.
Each step included a thought process and the best way to do this was to stop and think about
the next step and my partner confirmed with me before taking a step, making sure we
minimise the chances of an uneasy mistake.
I believe whilst I played the Belbin role as the chair of the team, my team member played the
role of an eective Team Worker, listening to instructions and getting the task done. Unlike
one of the teams, my parter and I did not have any conflict or disagreement during the activity.
The team that actually won the activity, followed Tuckmans theory exactly starting at a
forming stage which then led to a storming stage of slight disagreement. We did not have this
type of disagreement. According to Bruce Tuckman, this then meant that we did not work at
the most eective potential that we could've because we had no disagreements. It may be
evident that the other team finished o the task working better as a team, given that they
won the task.
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
The strengths that I possessed during this activity were:
The ability to communicate clearly to my partner and provide clear/concise instructions of
what to do.

The ability to remember which steps to take for the next round and have awareness of the
situation.
The ability to support my partner through the minefield without him feeling uncomfortable or
frustrated.
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
The weaknesses that I possessed during this task were:
Physical Ability: As I could not help my partner move, I was not very helpful in terms of
physical abilities.
Confidence: Sometime I was unsure of which step to take, so I panicked and made an
unnecessary mistake.
How could you improve for next time? *
Make future recommendations for yourself, your team and other individuals / teams.
If I were to do this activity again, I would focus on first on improving my weaknesses. I would
take more time when performing the task. I would not rush to make a quick and not thoughtthrough decision. I would make sure I am clear with what I want before I tell my partner to
avoid as much error as possible.
As a team, we did manage to work well together, but for next time we could have a more
detailed discussion when taking a step. There should be more confirmation to ensure that
mistakes are not made. More questioning should be made from the side of my partner to
minimise the error.
In terms of leadership qualities, I should have shown more courage to reinforce moral for my
partner so that he feels more comfortable performing the task.
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?
There was no conflict during this task because the team worker had trust in the leader and just
listened to every instruction that was given. Myself as the leader, ensured this by asking
questions asking if my partner was okay and was ready to progress onto the next step.
How else could you use relevant theory to analyse the overall performance today? *
Leadership styles, Belbin, Tuckman, Adair, Honey, Margerison & Mccann, Woodcock,
As the leader, I used multiple aspects of the John Adair theory; I used the criteria and achieved
the task by giving clear instructions and monitoring progression, managed the team by find a

good approach to complete the task well as a team, and finally to manage individuals, to make
sure that my team member was comfortable with the task at all times.