Management Lessons on Annual Trip

On29th June, when I ascend into a bus to head on a journey to Ella with many of my colleagues in the department for our annual trip, I never thought that would be full of adventures and give me as much as management lessons that I could ever imagine. As we returned back and recovered from the trip ( I know you understand that) a reflection made me realize what we were through and made me pen this article.

The Team

My stint at the bank is less than 30 months and I have been witnessing a very high turnover rate with me being the 5th oldest member in my team of 24 staff currently. The time has been challenging so much that over half the team with us is with less than 12 months at the bank. Despite the challenges we have achieved our KPIs thanks to the contributions of many of the previous team who were relentless when they were tasked with achieving the goals. Year 23 was a different challenge for us as we lost many of our key senior staff and presently, we are in the building phase of the team. The team is so new that we are still in the process of learning about the team which made this experience so enticing for us as management.

Hidden talents are always key.

The moment the journey started the young crowd was becoming vocal as they started singing, which is a normal affair. Suddenly a voice started coming from the middle seats of the bus; to my surprise the most silent girl in the department was not to be so when all the singing began. She ensured that the journey was filled with songs all the way through, and I realized that when a chance is provided to anyone their talents would be on full display. A fact that I reassured myself during the party in the night as many, whom we presumed to be silent and closed characters were not as such, and now I know they have much greater potential than they put on display.

Making the quick decisions

When you are heading on a two-day trip to a destination like Ella you are always in a stiff fight with time and the destination will test you as the weather changes often, especially in the evening. As we reached the Ella our first goal was to go to Nine Arches bridges but a heavy and pouring rain made few of the team members to suggest not to embark on the journey and postpone it to next day. I was quick to make an announcement that I would start on this journey with two others from the organizing team along with my boss, as I felt that it was the best time to do the trekking rather than postponing it. To my surprise almost 75% of the team were with us and amidst rain we started our walk towards nine arches, a decision that was proven a crucial one later on the trip. My learning was to go with the gut and do what the situation demands and lead the team by example.

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Embrace the team that follows you.

Surrounded by many gen Zs and Millennials we marched towards nine arches and as the rain stopped a new threat emerged. The wet ground was full of leeches, so it was up to us to ensure that those who were afraid of these little monsters to be taken care of. Once we reach the destination it proved to use, we made the right decision, despite the start of a long weekend in Sri Lanka very limited crowd was on show probably not making their due to rain that poured down minutes ago. ?The boss suggested walking along the railway track up to Ella train station and everyone was up for it, despite no one knowing. As we marched, we found a similar place with 3 arches which many of the tourists are not aware of and enjoyed the warmth of a coffee there with a nice view on the surrounding. This made me realize how important to communicate with the team and appreciate the team of what they achieve and encourage them of accepting unknown challenges.

Taking care of each member of the team

As the party in the night started it was important that we ensured everyone got their fair chance of enjoyment and excitement of the night and a safer environment was created. As leaders you need to understand this, and tasks cannot be accomplished by being too serious either. As organizers themselves had done a good job in making an eventful night it was up to us to make sure that everyone was part of the celebration and with their own comfort zones. As night went on, I realized that individuals have their own capacities and limitations and it was important for us to read the body language and respond to comfort them, which I believe was a crucial part of my takings in this journey. This atmosphere ensured that everyone was at ease and was willing to engage in every activity.

Get the team act when the situation demands.

After a long night we were planning to start our last day of the trip early in the morning and to our surprise our chauffeur made our day start as he got the bus stuck while turning it. This required the team to get into the act and work us out of the trouble as we wanted to get out of the deep hole we were in. The team put on relentless three hours effort to ensure that bus was ready to travel. This reflected on how the team could work with each other when different challenges are presented.

Be patient, don’t panic and react positively.

On our way down to Colombo the bus we travelled on faced a mechanical failure in Opanayaka and when this happened it was around 8pm. As it was assumed that the vehicle was out of fuel, fuel was brought in and filled the tank, however our journey did not last long as we faced continuous stoppages due to the continued failure at Pelmadulla. The clock time hit 10pm already. As the situation demanded, the bus drivers’ and service providers lethargic approach over the issue made us find our own solutions. A team was quick to talk to locals and get a mechanic down while the other part of the team started negotiations with the service provider to get an alternative arranged. Another part of the team was quickly finding transport modes to be back to Colombo, while the rest remained calm, which was a big relief. No one panicked and everyone understood what’s going on, which was a real relief in handling the situation. Three hours down the line we were on our way to head towards Colombo. The learning was to ensure that the team stays calm, and everyone understands their role during a crisis and be transparent about the actions that are being taken.

Conclusion

So a trip that started with the intention of making pure fun provided many valuable management lessons that would eventually lift our team spirit and poise the team immensely towards greater achievement for the rest of the year. I am pretty optimistic of what our team can achieve given the character they showed during this short time and awaiting for much bigger experiences for the future.