What is Leadership?
Leadership is an incredibly difficult skill to learn, gain, and internalize. Sometimes it means stepping aside and letting others voice their opinions and ideas, then bringing people together in a collaborative manner. Other times, it means not letting your ego get the best of you and keeping calm and focused in times of stress.
This is something we spent a lot of time at the Dignitas Project Leadership Institute thinking and talking about. Our leaders differ across gender, tribe, educational background, and more. They come in the form of parents, school management committee members, young new teachers, old seasoned veteran teachers, and everything in between. They all have one thing in common, though- passion and hope of a better future for the children of Mathare.
Team Building Day
One of the turning points of Leadership Institute came the day of our team building day at Idyllic Mistley Guest House. Here, attendees and staff were exposed to problem-solving and group-building exercises. These included a tarp exercise and a marble activity.
Nearly 40 attendees were put on a canvas tarp with the task of flipping the tarp over completely. The catch? No one could set foot on the grass. Chaos ensued, with people shouting over one another. One of the facilitators had to intervene to show us what to do. Can you figure out the solution?
We were also split into two teams, the Guavas and Cabbages. Each team had the task of bringing data from “Kisumu” (a random spot marked in the grass for the Guavas) or “Mombasa” (another random spot marked in the grass for the Cabbages) to “Nairobi”, a bucket that was an equal distance from both Kisumu and Mombasa. Both teams were bringing data for Dignitas Project. The data came in the form of a single marble for each team that had to travel to Nairobi by use of curved wooden pieces.
Outcomes
So what happened in both of these activities? Let’s start with the tarp activity.
The Tarp Activity
As soon as we were placed on the tarp, the loudest in the group began pulling the tarp up straight, folding it in half. While this clearly wasn’t the correct solution (we were a large enough group that had the tarp been reduced to half its size, there’s no way we would have fit on it), the few overpowered the many and persisted in carrying about the activity this way. Chaos broke out as people started shouting over one another, proposing ideas with no one listening.
Eventually G, one of the facilitators, came over and gave us advice. Slowly, as everyone quieted down, we began to fold a tiny corner of the tarp over so that a small triangle of the bottom was exposed and someone could step on it. We slowly moved by making the triangle larger and larger so one by one, each of us could move over to step on the reverse side.
During reflection after the activity G pointed to Caleb, a school management committee member, and said, “This man here was on the right track. He was demonstrating a strategy that could have worked. Yet none of you listened to him. Why?”
He continued. “Sometimes we dismiss people and ignore them because we don’t think they have anything worth saying, but in the process we miss valuable ideas. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to pay attention to these people and give them a chance to speak. Did you do that?”
The Marble Activity
This was another activity where members of each team began by shouting over one another. Pressures mounted as team members argued about strategy and immediately lined themselves up to begin movement. As the marble slowly (and sometimes, not so slowly) moved from wooden piece to wooden piece, each person who received it was bombarded by shouts of advice and a loud cacophony.
On both teams, those who dropped the marble were yelled at but no advice was given. The previous person in charge of handing the marble off to that person did not consider what they could have done to make the delivery smoother. Everyone was pointing fingers at one another rather than sharing strategies and tips.
Eventually, both teams quieted down as one or two people led the charge. After several failed attempts the Cabbages reached “Nairobi” successfully, running out on the field in triumph and relief.
G stood by quietly, allowing the Cabbages to celebrate their victory. Then he gathered us all in a group and calmly said, “Who won?”
“The Cabbages!” Someone shouted, igniting another flurry of cheers.
Desperate to have themselves heard, members of the Guavas shouted, “The Guavas!”
“No. Who won?” G stood facing us, back straight and hands clasped behind him. He wasn’t smiling.
“What was the mission? To get information from Kisumu to Nairobi, and from Mombasa to Nairobi. For Dignitas Project. Both of you were working to help Dignitas get information. When the Cabbages delivered their information, did anyone think to go help the Guavas? Do you think that if we had worked together, we could have completed this activity much sooner?”
Silence.
“No one won,” G tells us.
Lessons Learned
The team building exercises were lessons in humility, communication, and collaboration. Oftentimes, the loudest and most visible leaders of the group were the ones who kept these activities from moving forward while the quiet ones with valuable contributions were ignored and remained unheard. As a whole, we were constantly jumping into action without planning or discussion.
Leaders often feel pressure to jump into action right away, and forget to stop and reflect, solicit and share opinions, or plan. Though these were simple, outdoor activities, they were certainly indicative of many of the issues that our teachers in Mathare face given the lack of resources and pressure to spring into action. Our day at Idyllic Mistley Guest House was a microcosm of what teachers and leaders encounter everyday, highlighted their shortcomings and potential for growth, and taught all of us valuable lessons about leadership.
Photo Credit: Karibu Nyaggah
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