The Escape Games Experience: A New Take on Teamwork

In a class-wide excursion to Escape Games Canada, students put their teamwork skills to the test in a real-life scenario. 

As a student taking a Business Leadership course, I am happy to say that this experience was an interesting way for us to apply and reflect on the application of teamwork in various scenarios. I would label this trip as a very good learning experience! 

We prepared for the trip as a class by filling out a shared document. In this document we each assessed our strengths and weaknesses, our various character traits, and matched each other up with team members who fit best together based off of Belbin Team Roles. Belbin Team Roles is a system that describes the characteristics of members in a team, their key traits and who works best together. We used our findings to try and match our groups as best as we could. We then chose a team leader to be the key decision maker in the escape room. In all, the preparation helped us get an idea on how to approach the activity. 

A highlight of the escape room was definitely the challenge of escaping. I found it very exciting and enlightening to be able to interact with my peers in a high-pressure environment outside of the classroom. It felt like an experience where we could all connect on a higher level with one another. Trying to work as a cohesive group while solving problems was eye-opening for me because I realized that having a good team can bring great results in ways one may never have thought possible. 

The biggest challenge in the escape room was definitely sticking to our roles (leader vs. team member). It was very difficult to deliberately act a certain way and make decisions when we were on a strict time-crunch to solve clues and escape the room. Although it was difficult to stay in character, I did learn that certain actions and roles are very important within a team, and prioritization and goal-setting at the very beginning are arguably the most important steps to success. 

Ultimately, I am glad to have had this experience in the escape room. It was a great way to develop peer connections and discover new ways to act within a team to achieve the best results.