Independent Banker - September 2022 - 30

PORTFOLIO LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS
Lessons from
an escape room
By Lindsay LaNore, ICBA
3. It helped to be methodical.
That meant doing things in order
and slowing down when things got
tricky. As we progressed, we realized
it was important to take notes, so we
assigned a notetaker to document
the important clues and steps we
needed to accomplish.
Taking the time early on to
assess our surroundings helped us
better understand what we were up
against. We quickly discovered it
was easy to get discouraged, and it
took us almost 22 minutes (out of
the allotted 60) to gain traction. But
when we stopped to review, explore
the room and talk things through,
we were able to proceed on more
solid footing.
Before we started, the game
master had said that we could ask
for hints, but we didn't ask for help
until 30 minutes had elapsed. In
hindsight, we should have admitted
our limitations and asked for a
hint sooner.
s teams, how well do we work
under pressure? The ICBA
Community Banker University team
recently had a chance to think about
that when, at our annual strategy
and teambuilding meeting, we found
ourselves locked in an escape room.
Whether you've done one or not, we
all know the premise of escape rooms.
A group is locked into a space-real
or virtual-and, against the clock, its
members solve clues and puzzles to
get out. While on its face that may
sound like a fun activity, our escape
room experience also turned out
to be a great learning opportunity.
The morning after we successfully
managed to escape, we spent time
debriefi ng-and learned a lot about
ourselves in the process.
So, what were our main takeaways?
A
1. Most importantly, we were
stronger together. The object of
the exercise was clearly articulated
from the outset, and we had to
collaborate to accomplish our goal.
That meant leaning into each
other's strengths. One teammate,
for example, was better at
deciphering Morse code, while
another excelled at scouring the
space for physical clues.
2. We also had to trust each other.
Our escape room had two adjoining
sections, and some of the puzzles
required team members to be in
separate sections, communicating
with each other to solve a riddle.
When one told another to " crank the
handle faster, " the other had to trust
them and crank faster.
4. Thinking outside the box turned
out to be critical. One puzzle asked
us to link rings together to remove
a key from a tiny hole-something
that didn't seem logical-but
someone's outside-the-box thinking
helped solve it.
We made it out of our escape room
with only minutes to spare! But that
didn't stop us from cheering each
other on and celebrating our success.
Life is too short not to celebrate the
wins-especially when the whole
team contributed to its success. And
perhaps that was the most important
lesson of all. 
Lindsay LaNore (lindsay.lanore@
icba.org) is ICBA's group executive
vice president and chief learning
and experience off icer
30 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q September 2022
Independent Banker - September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - September 2022
