After finishing the simulation, I can say that it was as fun as it was difficult. While we struggled to get going in the first year, there was a sense of "Well we have no clue what we're doing, so let's just try something and hope for the best." In the second and third year, we had a definite plan. And it still didn't work like we wanted to. This was much more frustrating. In the end, it turns out we didn't heed the advice of other groups- talk, talk, talk, talk- as much as we should have. It seemed the most important part in creating change in the game was to make sure that everyone was involved.
I feel this is very much true in real life, as people would much rather be part of a change than be told that they have to change. Especially these days, when teachers aren't feeling the respect they had in the past, being asked for their input at work can be an important morale boost.
In the long term, I feel the game changed the way I would look at major change. In the past, I would have chosen what I felt to be the best "fill in the blank", and would trust that everyone would eventually get on board once they see how great it is. Now I see that you really need to work with people as you create the change. People are unlikely to look over one day and be so amazed that they immediately pass over all decision-making powers to you and your awesome "whatever plan it is".
It works even better when you convince others that your awesome plan is really their idea and you're going along with them.
ReplyDeleteI'm living through the results of trying to take on too much change with too few people. Next time I will bring the whole village.
I also realized how difficult it is to move forward without getting a consensus of support while playing this game. There has to be fine line between waiting too long to get everybody on board and the need to make a decision for time's sake. The annoying part is that the people in opposition are always the most vocal and it takes a lot of coaxing to get the community involved enough to see the true consensus opinion.
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