David's World

June 25, 2005

A Survivor-Jack-Bauer challenge for More Effective Researchers

Very intensive research work this week: I took part in a "transferable skills" course - they tought me what is commonly called "soft skills" and all those things that aren't really my job, but definitely part of it.
With a group of six people, I went to the Edinburgh University sports grounds to solve the ultimate Survivor-Jack-Bauer-combination task. Save the city by placing two buckets filled with a secret neutralizer H20-solution onto two little tiles in the middle of a 10x10m grass area, without stepping into to area or touching the lawn at all. We had a bunch of beat-up wooden sticks, some rope and a wardrobe hanger to accomplish the task - and a paperclip, which turned out to be a red herring.
With self-organization, leadership, planning and collaboration and a good deal of creativity, we solved the task, coming in first among the other groups. Yeah, baby.
The next task was harder - plan a local fun park for people with disabilities, including budgets, marketing, themes. A number of role games and "challenges" later, with intermittent explanations and reflection, I'm supposed to be better at organizing myself and others.
Am I? I'm not sure if I needed to find out the basic truths of professional life by playing role games. My current job is in science, after all - we're trained in analytical, abstract thinking. I have never been to a job assessment center, and unless I'll become a management consultant one day, I'm not planning to. So wasn't it helpful at all?
On the other hand, the explanations and the interaction with people from different fields, who are in the same basic situation, did have a positive effect. They motivate me to see my job, my research work as a "project" that wants to be planned with foresight, tackled with motivation, controlled by milestones and kept going by regular revision - despite the fact that the actual content and outcome of research is random and very, very open. Planning does not need to hinder creativeness. But staying in control will make me a "More Effective Researcher (TM)", as the course title reads.
Well. Let's see.

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