What I took away from Tough Mudder

Apart from coming away with a lot of mud and some scars for life after catching my leg on barb-wire; taking on the Tough Mudder has made me re-evaluate teamwork and what it actually means to work together collaboratively to achieve a common goal.

On the afternoon of the 18th May 2019, enthusiastic members from MIDFIX Assemble met up at the picturesque Belvoir Castle to complete the Tough Mudder challenge.
After a warm-up and a motivational talk with the event organisers, we were off, the first challenge was crawling under barb wire through a patch of mud. Now I see how contestants get so muddy!

Another 12 obstacles later, we completed it. My team and I were fortunate that we successfully completed the challenge with just a few scratches and bruises.
What I learnt from the event is the importance of teamwork and collaboration. Without my teammates and other fellow contestants, I would not have completed it. The majority of the obstacles required working with other teams to overcome; such as creating human pyramids, climbing up Everest and relying on someone to catch you to pull you up.

Elements of self-doubt often crept-up. There were times when I said; “I won’t be able to do this.” and my fellow team-mates would reply; “Of course you can, we’ll get you over.” With encouragement, support, determination and a little bit of adrenalin, it’s amazing what you can achieve. As a team, we worked together to overcome all of the problems we encountered. We quickly learnt each other’s strengths and weaknesses and trust was built which led us to have confidence in each other. Throughout the challenge, we had created a deep commitment to each-other and we all shared the common goal of finishing.

This sounds cliché but common sense is learnt; so next time you take on a team challenge in the workplace, ensure trust is built and teammates have confidence in each other.  Be mindful of people’s strengths and weaknesses. Play on people's strengths and support people on their areas of weakness. Ultimately, make sure that all team members buy into the same goals.