In my OAL 275, or Adventure based facilitation class on this trip we have all been assigned a book called ‘The Tao of Leadership.’ From this book for our first blog we have been assigned to choose any three chapters from this book that really hit home for us that we could reflect and relate the chapter to activities we have done on the trip.
The first chapter that I chose from the book was the very first chapter. Tao means How. How things work and how they happen. Everything has a process and principles within the process. Both combined create a creation. While staying in Mangaweka , Adam facilitated us in a group activity called the human knot. We were instructed into a circle and to grab the hand of someone across from us. It could not be someone simply standing next to us. During the process of working together to untie this knot we were also given principles to follow. Just one or two people could be instructing us in movement at a time. This taught us to put trust in each other decisions knowing we all wanted to reach our goal in untying this knot. By being aware of what was happening and what we as a group needed to do, we could start getting a sense of how it was happening. We all had to pay attention with open minds to help each other.
The second chapter I chose is called ‘Be Open to Whatever emerges.’ I have learned from past experiences that remaining with an open mind is much more effective with people and for yourself then to be judgmental only seeing things a certain way. This chapter explains this. Adam is a good example of this because during our group meetings and talks he does not give us a personal agenda, he simply lets us know what needs to be done, never telling us how it must be done. He has given us examples to follow and also suggestions to think about as we make our decisions as a group. The group as a whole is the leader of this trip. We are all teaching ourselves to become good leaders and learning from one another as well. We listen to each other with respect and love without passing judgments, remaining open to whatever emerges. When we know that everyone can speak and get nothing but respect from our peers, we become more comfortable speaking up and saying what we think and feel. “Openness is simply more potent than any system of judgments ever devised.”
My third and final chapter I have chosen for this blog is called ‘The Source of Power.’ Reading this chapter made me reflect back to yesterday and the day before when I had a chance to guide the raft I was on. In an earlier chapter the book states that a potent leader is able to make conscious yet still spontaneous decisions based on the here-and-now of what is happening. They do not calculate or manipulate. For me the river was the source of power. Based on the river as you learn to read the river and its currents you can make both conscious and spontaneous best choices for the raft and the people riding in it. You learn to know what is happening and act accordingly. Also by being able to read the people in your boat, which side may need more help paddling then the other to get to where you want to go. The power of the team in the boat comes through cooperation of the team members and each other’s great selflessness to want nothing more but the people in the boat to work together in unity to accomplish distance together.
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