The Everest simulation is a collaborative, multi-player game that challenges
teams to work together to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The simulation
includes a variety of challenges, including:
Information sharing
Team members must analyze information about weather, health, supplies, and
more, and decide how much to share with their teammates.
Conflict
The simulation is designed to create conflict among the team, which the leader
must resolve.
Hidden challenges
Teams face three hidden challenges as a group that they must work together to
overcome.
Time management
Teams must correctly count the time available and not lose track of time.
Decision making
Teams must make decisions in response to the challenges, taking into account
opposing interests, cognitive biases, and other factors.
During the simulation, four things the team did great were keep constantly
communication between us to achieve our common goal; keep in mind our goal;
question the assumption at each step and count the time available correctly.
Through an analysis of the key issues encountered during the simulation, I can
conclude that for self-progression in the workforce and improvement in leading,
we needed to improve our communicaon skills and develop our leadership
qualities. An improvement in communicaon skills is found to be achieved
through this simulaon. An increase in condence through an uptake risk-taking
is required for enhancing leadership traits, and more careful evaluation of
Leadership styles is needed for futurecoherence in group environments.
The most compelling lesson I took away from the Everest Simulation was the
need to share as much information as possible when working in a team. Each
member of a team brings different information to the table and they need to be
given the space to share as much of that information as possible. Next time I am
in a leadership role, I will make an effort to make sure everyone is invited to
contribute their knowledge before we move to solve the problem at hand. By
sharing information first, we will be better equipped to find a solution to the
problem at hand.
I think the simulation showed me to power of information and interest
asymmetries. The simulation made it clear that even the smallest disparity in
information can have detrimental effect on team performance. In the future, I
plan to address this by encouraging information sharing as much as possible.
By providing each person with a platform to share their perspective and
information, it will help bridge the information gap and put the group on the
pathway to success.
Creating a psychologically safe environment is crucial for leaders because
without it, members of a team will not be comfortable sharing their perspectives
and the team performance will suffer as a result. I will apply this knowledge in
future leadership roles by trying to foster an inclusive community and working
to lead as fairly as possible. When people believe others on the team are above
them or are being favored by the leader, it can discourage them from sharing
their opinion. To prevent this, I will try to promote a team environment where
everyone feels equally valued and is willing to share their thoughts openly.
The saying “process matters” is a reference to the idea that the pathway of
decision making and the “process” that a team takes when developing solutions
has a large impact on the performance and success rate of the team. Teams that
pay little attention to their decision-making process and are unorganized in their
approach may not see great results compared to a team that does. With bad
process, teams may lose track of important information and lose sight of their
goals as a team. Leaders can improve process by managing discussion so all
members get to speak, listen actively, and intentionally structuring debate time
to better encourage discussion. All of these concepts work to promote improve
the flow of debates and encourage members of the team to speak openly.
In the Everest simulation, the goals of a role depend on the role you play on the
team, which can include:
Leader: Responsible for resolving conflict and ensuring the team’s goals are
aligned with the leader’s individual goals
Physician: A member of the team who can treat medical conditions that develop
Environmentalist: A member of the team who can address environmental
challenges
Marathoner: A member of the team
Photographer: A member of the team
Team Observer: An optional sixth role