Sunday, March 30, 2008

NO SUCH THING as an Organizational Hierarchy - by Yandaro Al-Amien

A note to all managers, directors and CEOs out there:

If you wish to REMIND your colleagues and subordinates of your superiority at all times, then this is something you must do; embark on a teambuilding adventure that will bring you back down to earth. A teambuilding event will reveal to you what it is like for a team to work WITH you, and not FOR you.

When you are a participant of a teambuilding activity, there is absolutely NO SUCH THING as an organizational hierarchy. Everyone stands on a similar level and co-operates willingly to achieve the event's agenda: to foster teamwork, to cultivate understanding, and to bring out the best of the participants' soft skills.

Every single participant is expected to get down and dirty in all of the teambuilding activities. Whether it is physical engagements such as jungle trekking and white water rafting, or in-class experiential learning sessions such as personality profiling and trust-building activities, the notion of ranks and positions is thoroughly dispelled. What you become is another professional on a learning journey; indifferent to others from the similar organization.