How Do We Overcome Fear On The Team Challenge Pyramid?
An application of the DISC personality profiling system
By Andy Pan
I think it is “safe” to say that the Team Challenge Pyramid (TCP) is the most powerful tool that FOCUS Adventure possess that allows anyone to intensively experience the crucial elements of teamwork, elements such as trust, faith, coordination, communication and of course, confidence. From acute observations of the behaviours exhibited by participants and their honest responses from this unique “pyramid experience”, we can conclude that the different personalities, as illustrated by the DiSC personality profiling system, can be easily surfaced, as stress levels dramatically increase with the ascent of the pyramid.
Famous author and humourist, Mark Twain, once said, “Courage is the resistance of fear, mastery of fear and not an absence of fear.” Wouldn’t you agree with him? As challenges on the pyramid compound, it is indeed inevitable that fear, whether consciously or sub-consciously, starts to dictate our every action. So if fear is never absent from ourselves, how would the different personalities attempt to overcome fear?
D
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In the face of fear, a high D individual would, most likely, display his/her innate D traits by giving objective instructions to aid his/her teammates to help them overcome the physical obstacles. |
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This individual feels challenged by the obstacles that the pyramid offers and proceeds to lead his/her team almost as a natural reaction. He/she would be the one who would seem almost impatient to conquer the pyramid. |
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A high D individual would mask his/her fear by constantly guiding the team during the pyramid ascent, as though he/she seems undaunted by the fearful task-at-hand. It is highly possible that this person is as fearful as anyone else in his/her team but due to a high-ego self, this individual would refuse to outwardly show fear. |
I
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A high I person is easily identifiable on the pyramid. How? Look out for the person who jokes the most during the climb. This individual uses humour to overcome his/her fear of heights. |
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Being the social animal, the high I person engages in friendly, sometimes comical, banter with other teammates. He/she helps to ease the inevitable tension through words of encouragement and quite obviously, laughter. |
S
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The high S individual is the quietest and calmest person on the pyramid. This person would even appear serious on occasions. |
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This individual overcomes fear by listening attentively to instructions directed at him and executing them responsibly. |
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By displaying an inner calmness, the high S individual impresses others with his/her ability to stay composed even in the face of “danger”. The innate reaction of composure is triggered on the onset of fear because it enables this individual to consider all his/her actions carefully before executing them. |
C
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During the climb, a high C individual would be the person who would have the highest level of safety awareness among his/her teammates. |
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This person would have listened attentively to the facilitator during the safety briefing and would also be the one who asks the most safety-related questions. Being analytical and process-oriented, it is not surprising that the high C individual actually maps out the entire ascent process in his/her mind, step-by-step. |
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Giving specific attention to the safety procedures and devices, a high C person overcomes fear by feeling assured that safety will not be compromised in any way during the climb. This assurance is achieved by objective reasoning and not by “mere” words of comfort or encouragement. |
The TCP serves to place a team under intensive stress and pressure, as the experience mimics that of the real world. It is under such circumstances that the true colours and behaviours of anyone would surface. Thus, under stress, each personality complements another with its unique traits, ensuring that a heterogeneous team functions almost perfectly even during tough times.
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