Dharamshala trip: What it takes to travel with 9 people…

Where to stay, where to eat, what to do, what time to start, what time to leave…Those are tricky questions to answer even if you travel on your own. Forget about smooth decision making once you travel with 8 other people. It took us hours to figure out the return tickets, sort out money and arrange for the guide for the trekking… not mentioning the dividing rooms, discussing possibility of taking shower or power nap before we go for activities…



I guess I would have been very close to suicide or at least deep-deep depression with all this happening. If not some background in project management and team-building obtained in my previous life. With my warmest greetings to Katarina Lagerstrom I recalled the stages of group dynamic: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning. This very simple framework explains why it takes a while before people who just got together can accomplish something. To put it short, a group naturally passes thought the stages of getting-to-know-each-other, figuring out the ways of co-existence and cooperation, rebelling against the newly set rules, establishing each other in the group… It all implies minor and major conflicts and sorting out what you do not really want to waste time on while traveling…. But still… At least, now I believe we can travel more with this team – once worked reasonably well, no need for adjourning ;o)