Essay on Reflection: Leadership and Systems Theory

Submitted By apowel45
Words: 644
Pages: 3

I thoroughly enjoyed Wednesday’s class involving our discussion on Systems Theory and Interdependence. We did many activities to build our strengths and teamwork as future leaders. There was a unique and interesting obstacle about every task that required us to think critically and make intelligent decisions.
Our first exercise involved us using rubber circular disks as “lily pads.” The obstacle with this exercise was that we had to get from one side of the gym to the other without letting the “lily pad” touch the ground. The systems theory variables used throughout this activity were process variables and interdependence. We had to mutually rely on each other to complete the exercise. Also, we had to use our problem-solving skills to decide on the best strategy to execute our thoughts. Our second exercise was a lot more challenging and took some extra thought and planning. The goal of this exercise was to create a crane to pick up a tennis ball and put it in a pan. The problem with this exercise was that we couldn’t step inside the imaginary circle encircling the tennis balls. The systems theory variables we used throughout this exercise were equifinality and output variables. It took some time for my group members to conclude that there was more than one way to complete this exercise. There were a lot of solutions given from different group members, but none of our ideas seemed to be successful at first. After a lot of struggling on solutions, we finally came to a group consensus and completed the exercise. We all personally grew and learned about our leadership styles through this exercise. Our third and final exercise was the easiest because three out of the five group members had done a similar activity in the SAFE Program. We had to use strings to balance a tennis ball that was on a ring stand. We had to raise the ball, put it through a hula hoop, and bring it back to its original location. The systems theory variables used in this exercise were input and equifinality. We used our prior knowledge to easily complete this task. Even though we had already done the activity before, we were open to other ideas from our group members because there might have been another way to complete the task. These exercises taught our team the importance of active listening and cooperation.
As I went from exercise to exercise, I began to develop the role of an introvert. Instead of giving all my input, I thought about the situation on a deeper level to try to