Leader in Training

2024 Leader in Training program report: LIT Project #1

Date: October 19
Place: Tokyo

  The first LIT project of this year was a day of a few different interactive activities in Tokyo. They have decided to make glass crafts and traditional Japanese sweets. They met up in the morning and headed to the glass craft studio first. The craft they were making was an LED-lit glass stand of their own design using a sandblast. Tracing and cutting out the design was a bit tricky, but they ended up with original creations that they were all happy with.

  After the craft, it was lunchtime. They had the restaurant picked out, but it was the weekend and there was already a long line when they got there. They researched to see if they could find an alternative, but they decided to wait in line in the end. Originally, they had planned to go to the animal café after lunch, but the lunch took too long, and had to cancel the café.

  The activity in the afternoon was the traditional Japanese sweets making. In a small classroom with ingredients and tools already laid out, the instructor gave background and explanations. After learning a little bit about the fundamentals, it was time to make the sweets. It was a very delicate process and the amount of ingredients you use or how firm you’re holding it made slight differences in how it looks. Even though they had the same example and instructions, the end products looked uniquely different. And, they ended the day with an exploratory walk through the city and a delicious dinner.

  When they started planning for the project at the end of the summer, they were planning to go bungy jumping. Unfortunately, they could not align the idea and process with the parties involved to make it happen, so they decided to change the activity. From the beginning, they were able to work as a team and managed the tasks well, including initial research, scheduling, communication methods, and budget. Even on the day of, they managed the changes well, rearranging the schedule, transportation, and budget on the spot. Even though there were a few issues along the way, they were able to finish their first project successfully. We are looking forward to how they apply what they learned this time to their next project.

“This was my first time leading the project, and I was indecisive at times because there were so many decisions to be made. But in the end, I was able to work well with the team and had a great day with them. We needed to make a few changes on the day and it took time to re-research and reschedule, so for the next project, we’ll think ahead and prepare ‘plan B’.”