In the project library of Beijing's Outward Bound training programs, there is one project that everyone is very familiar with: The Dragon Rising from the Sea. As soon as you see it, you can roughly understand how this project works. It’s similar to the game we played as children called "Three Legs for Two People." Everyone lines up and ties two adjacent legs together. Unlike "Three Legs for Two People," which requires us to walk forward, the Dragon Rising from the Sea project requires us to move sideways like a crab, increasing the difficulty of the project. This is a competition-style project, and through it, the main message conveyed is the communication and默契level within a team. Although the project seems simple, if these two aspects are not done well, it will be impossible to complete.
The origin of this project also has an infuriating story. It is said that long ago, some countries looked down on Chinese people, saying that Chinese people were not united. The Chinese,不服气, challenged those from that country to find out where exactly we Chinese were inferior. On the day of the challenge, the two sides stood together. The Chinese proposed many challenge plans, such as archery, horseback riding, wrestling, etc., all of which defeated the opponents. The opponents said, "Each of you standing alone is very excellent, but when forming a team, you may not be stronger than us. Let's try." The Chinese,不服气, said, "Let's try then." Then they saw the foreigners take out many ropes, stand in a row, and tie the feet of adjacent people together. The Chinese also followed their example and tied themselves together. When the signal was given, the foreigners took big steps forward, while the Chinese couldn't take even a single step and ultimately lost the competition.
This is a satirical story, but it also highlights the lack of such rapport and unity in our teams. In Outward Bound training, the results reflected in the game are that we expend a lot of effort but remain stagnant. What kind of result will we get in our work? Some teams, when moving forward, if someone makes a mistake affecting the performance, only receive blame and complaints. Can such a team succeed? This question is the key issue that has long plagued our success. To solve this problem, we need to correct it bit by bit from daily life, truly becoming a part of the team and taking responsibility for the team. When someone makes a mistake, we should actively help them instead of blaming them. We must remember, there are no useless people in a team, only misplaced ones.
Article reprinted from: http://www.blwh.cn/hv_more.asp?id=342