In this fun game/activity, a teacher can demonstrate to students how the inverted organizational structure - permitting the frontline folks in a company to steer the upper management and the managers - can benefit a team.

Purpose:

To show the Inverted Organizational Structure model. This model announces the standard organizational structure of President, officers/committee chairs, and players/members be flipped upside down to be partakers/members, officials/panel chairs, and president. This suggests that leaders of associations should encourage and use the strengths of members to help the group achieve their goal. In this case, the goal is to make an effective aeroplane in one minute and throw the paper airplane a good distance. We are able to use the talents of the group to help wrestling group members attain throwing the aeroplane effectively.

Steps:

- Before telling everybody that they're going to be making a plane, hand each classmate one piece of paper. Each person should write their names on the paper so you know whose plane went the farthest.
- Tell the class the goal is to make the paper plane that goes the farthest.
- They have 25 seconds. Start the time and say “Go.”
- Utilise a clock to countdown, and announce when they have ten or less seconds left.
- Tell the class to take their hands away from the airplane.
- Bring the class out into the corridor to launch the planes. They will stand behind a beginning line and all chuck in the same direction. Dependent on the number of people attending class that day, have scholars chuck in different groups.
- The class will go back into the room and will be handed another sheet of paper.
- Outside in the hallway, activity leaders will mark which planes went the farthest and shortest distances, as well as the typical distance. This is to prove that the planes go farther the second time.
- In the room, have the person that threw the farthest demonstrate and explain how to make a good paper plane. ALSO, have them show how to throw the plane.
- Round two. They have 25 seconds again. Count down at 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 seconds.
- Bring the group into the corridor again to throw the planes. Note how much further the planes went this time.
- Everyone goes back within to debrief the activity and explain what happened.
- Explain the Inverted Organizational Structure model
- Ask the class for participation
- Did we attain our goal and increase paper plane throwing capabilities?
- Did you feel shy teaching the class the proper way to launch your paper airplane the farthest?
- Did the class feel better about their paper airplane folding capabilities before or after the exercise?
- Is a top-bottom pecking order important to run an organization, or do you think that bottom-up works better?

Vas Blagodarskiy, a student from University of Maryland in University Park, MD is the writer of http://qualities-of-a-leader.com/. To discover more about the inverted organizational model, see http://qualities-of-a-leader.com/traditional-vs-inverted-organizational-structure/

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