wHAT i hAVE lEARNT fROM sAO*

Maze of life was an activity that made me recognize most about the importance and power of leadership. The activity took place in an area that contained 9x9 squares. Each team was asked to walk across the squares in a designed but secret route, which was drawn in advance. The fastest team would be the winner. In addition, there were a few rules that we had to follow. Firstly, we were not allowed to talk to each other. Secondly, we were asked to keep body connection with our teammates. Next, during the race, each square could only allow one team member of the same team to stand on it. Moreover, once anyone of the team stepped on wrong route, the whole team was required to go back to the start by stepping backwards the right route. Since we did not know what the designated route was, we had to try many times until we reached the destination.

In the activity, there was no selection of team leader because we all were the leader of our team, we had chance to lead our team to destination by applying the leadership competence. Given that no talking was allowed, it greatly depended on the accuracy and bravo of the leader to make a decision. Leaders needed to make decision on their own with no oral support from teammates but in heart. After a number of trial and error, the correct route was coming out. However, it did not mean that you could reach the destination soon. Although the trial and error process was conducted by one person, the leader, other teammates were needed to pay attention on it, especially the error. We certainly had to memorize the right steps and also learn from the error, in order to shorten this time-consuming trial and error process. When I was the leader, who was leading a team of subordinates, the pressure was not only come out from my mind but added by my teammates. Each trial is an opportunity to step forward, but also backwards when wrong decision was made. I could not discuss with or ask for suggestions from my teammates, which meant I could only help myself. There was no way to escape from making decision, which pushed me to try. When considering which step had higher possibility to be correct, a milestone ran out from my mind that is “Trial is the father of Success”. It motivated me to try to find out new steps and I was proud of discovering a few new steps. These steps were too small to lead a team to success, but we could never success without these basic steps.

At the beginning of the activity, we usually made wrong decision, therefore trainers shouted on us; as a result we were nervous about making decisions. After a few trials, I realized that it did not matter whether right decision was made. What trainers wanted us were facing the difficulties and failure and at the same time learning from mistakes. By carrying this thought, I felt no pressure about making decision. I understood that people might appreciate you only when you have put all you effort to try your best, no matter the result is good or bad. As we might make wrong decision, it was important to have support from teammates. The highest level of support appeared during the activity, which was support from teammates’ heart. This kind of support was translated into trust among our team. It was our fate to be teammates on the camp, teammates were the only people that we could rely on during the activity. We accepted the failure and appreciated the success of each other, hence built up trust, in the other words, we treated each other with sincere and LOVE.

e*