Last week, I spent the whole week with some graduates at an outdoor centre running team building activities. I had 12 people in my group, but there were 65 ‘Grads’ in total and 5 facilitators.
We worked along side the centre instructors delivering some theory to put in to practise in the field (literally).
On day-1 we did introductions, objectives and asked the graduates who was a holiday maker, hostage or explorer. To my surprise, there were a few hostages who didn’t really want to be there and openly admitted they would prefer to be somewhere else.
One of the ‘hostages’ was in my group and it became evident that he really didn’t want to be there.
He didn’t engage in the initial sessions and was very clear on the fact he was not going to enjoy the week. I could see the look in everyone’s eyes, they were now dreading the week with him!
We separated the big group and went to our tepee to discuss some topics and, again my ‘hostage’ was still playing his part. I decided to call it out and just said that we are here for a week so if he didn’t want to participate he would fulfil his wish and would be miserable all week – no big deal for the rest of us!
The following day we embarked on a day of outdoor challenges which included a long walk. The weather was okay and I noticed that my ‘hostage’ was starting to get involved and even smiled now and then! No-one pandered to his needs, they just got on with things and he edged his way into discussions, problem solving and even leading on some activities.
By the end of the week and at our awards evening, he was voted “The most improved” to which he laughed and accepted that he had been a pain, at first, but had really enjoyed his time with the group, now his new friends!
It goes to show, that if we don’t write people off straight away, there is a chance they can be a valued member of the team. He, in fact, was an amazing ‘solutions guy’ and could solve complex problems really quickly, which is probably why the team won the outdoor challenge.
As he was slightly different, not very personable and abrasive at times, so it would have been easy for the group to turn on him. I have to say that the other 11 ‘Grads’ were fantastic and allowed him space to get involved, even after his initial comments, which was amazing.
It is easy to judge people and sometimes we can get it wrong! The least we can do is give someone a chance to prove us right or maybe even prove us wrong, they could turn out to the best performer or the most valued member.
Have you ‘written anyone off’ and they may need a second chance to be Superman or Wonder Women.