I completely agree with Tom Wujec's analysis of why kindergarteners perform better on the Spaghetti Challenge than MBA students. I believe the children were better at this task because they tried to build “a” structure instead of trying to plan to build the tallest structure like adults. It was evident the children performed better because they were learning what did not work through the repetitive building process. For example, children may build ten structures in ten minutes, each improving upon the next because “kids get instant feedback about what works and what doesn't work” (Wujec,2010). Whereas, adults may use the same ten minutes orienting themselves to the task, talking about it, figuring out what it's going to look like, and jockeying for power. Then they spend some more time planning, organizing, sketching and laying out spaghetti (Wujec, 2010). Essentially, the adult approach is analysis paralysis and the child approach is to scrap planning and go straight to building. Additionally, the children in this exercise completely remove the power struggles typically associated with team members trying to accomplish a task. Hence, there is no time wasted on trying to determine who is in charge, or whose idea is right or wrong.
Another interesting discovery from this exercise was the performance of CEO’s vs. CEO’s with an executive assistant on the team. The team with the executive assistant performed significantly better in comparison. I wouldn’t go so far to say this was a surprise, but interesting nonetheless. I immediately picture a group of CEO’s fighting with each other during this exercise because they might not be used to taking direction, more familiar with leading and directing people. On the other hand, I think the key to improved performance on the team with the assistant was the special management skill they brought to the team. The thought of a typical CEO may conjure up visions of a boss solely dictating what to do and when to do it. However, the reality is that most CEO’s have an executive assistant facilitating positive decisions and actions. Inevitably, CEO’s have to manage, but who manages the CEO? The answer lies within the marshmallow and spaghetti exercise by the executive assistants demonstrating their ability to manage CEO’s and facilitate processes.
Process interventions study the behavior of groups as a whole and the individuals within these groups. These interventions consist of group content, or the “what” or task at hand, and the group process of “how” the group will accomplish the task. Brown (2011) suggests that process interventions are used to help groups “become more aware of the way it operates and the way its members work with one another” (p. 199). If I were asked to conduct a process intervention workshop I would use the “Build a tower, build a team” video to focus on how the kindergarten students were able to outperform adults. These young students were not more intelligent or experience than adults, yet they still produced the tallest structures. Process interventions center on five areas relative to group performance: communication, member roles and functions in groups, group problem solving and decision making, group norms and growth, and leadership and authority. Since “process interventions are all about how the group is going about accomplishing its task” (Brown, 2011, p. 203) I would use the video to show how the kindergarteners differed from the adults in each of these areas.
Throughout my personal and professional life, I have been somewhat indecisive when it comes to taking action. Granted, I have definitely improved in this area through education and experience, but I know I still have work to do in this area. I had to really change my mindset over these years to be less concerned with making mistakes and more concerned with learning from mistakes. As cliche as it sounds, I've learned that making mistakes is not only okay, it is essential to growth. This week’s exercise has validated my suspicion that it’s better to commit to a decision, take action, and learn from it rather than to analyze the infinite possibilities and delay taking action or not take any action at all. My approach to some group situations will be more like a group of kindergarteners building a structure from spaghetti and marshmallows with no fear of failure, worry about being wrong, or concern for power struggles.
References
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Wujec, T. (2010, Feb). Build a tower, build a team. TEDTalks. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower#t-389804
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