A635.6.3.RB - EcoSeagate

When I was in college as an undergraduate student, I was a member of our Public Relations (PR) team. There were two PR teams on campus; each team consisted of 4 members (2 males, 2 female). Though we had events during the schoolyear, the main function of our job occurred during the summer. In the summer, we traveled to various middle and high school camps throughout the country, and served as camp counselors/servants/entertainers, you name it! However, before we began our rigorous traveling, both PR teams went on a retreat with our PR team director. During the pre-travel retreat, we participated in outdoor team-building activities. Of all the team-building activities, the outdoor events were most challenging. One activity was called the trust fall. In the trust fall exercise, one person stood on a ledge, blindfolded, with their back to the rest of the group; the person on the ledge was approximately 6ft in the air. While the person was on the ledge, the rest of the team members locked arms and created a “bed” for the person to fall back. When ready, the person on the ledge fell back into the arms of the team. While it sounds like a fast and simple transaction, it took most of us time to simply fall…or trust. We knew our team was there but falling was scary. When we finally fell back, there was great relief, and trust in those who caught us. In addition to the trust fall, I was impacted by the wire-walk. In the wire-walk, I wore a helmet and harness, climbed a tree (approximately 50ft), and walked across a wire (kind of like a tight rope). I remember my teammates cheering for me even though I was kind of mean to them because I was so scared. Still, there they stood, in full support. As we all went through our various exercises, we fully supported one another. We took pictures of our accomplishments and laughed at moments that were so scary just hours earlier. Those physical team-building activities brought us together and instilled within us the trust that we needed throughout our summer travels.

Although we were not a corporate organization, we were an organization that needed strong team interaction. Our teambuilding exercises allowed us to see one another in our truest form; whether it was true fear, true joy, or true frustration, we saw it and worked through it. We ultimately learned how to work with one another through our team building experiences. Therefore, I certainly see the value in EcoSeagate’s team development process. Although Seagate president, Bill Watkins, receives criticism from stockholders for the event, he refuses to stop because he knows it is working (Brown, 2011, p. 274). I also think the outdoor experience helps employees see positive changes within their organization. Prior to Watkins’ leadership, the organization was led by a taskmaster who consistently fired people (Brown, 2011, p. 274). Because of the previous leader’s damaging leadership, some restorative change had to happen; Watkins’ found this change through implementing EcoSeagate.

I would love for my organization to go through an experience like EcoSeagate. Though understandable, our main focus is hard work. We work so hard to make organizational goals that we rarely lift our heads to breathe in all that is around us. It is almost like we are scared to focus on anything other than work because we may lose productivity. Productivity is what keeps us employed, so it’s hard to communicate the need for team-building activities when production is foundational. If there was quantifiable evidence proving the effectiveness of team exercises like these, then maybe our organization would consider implementation. Because there is no quantifiable evidence, I don’t think that my organization would implement this kind of exercise. Still, I do believe that we and other organizations, could benefit from an exercise like this. Team-building exercises allow us to see one another beyond our titles. Additionally, we grow in relationship with one another when we wholeheartedly focus on building with one another. Team-building activities also help us let down our guard and ultimately trust one another.

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (8th ed.). Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall.