From personal experience, I knew that I would not be of much help to my group within the escape room as I am just no good at seeking and interpreting clues. I looked to my Strengthsfinder results to pinpoint what I am good at so I could use them to contribute to the tasks within the room. My top strengths in order are: restorative, developer, harmony, responsibility, and belief.

My group composed of Michelle, John, Josh, Keith, and myself appeared to be very excited for the room as we all discussed our previous escape room experiences which posed for very interesting conversation as some people mentioned they have been blindfolded and handcuffed before. Going into the room, I was fairly certain we would be well off because my group seemed fairly competent and we all held the same sense of determination to escape.

Once the game started we all began to search around for clues and about ten minutes (out of the whole hour) went by before we found something. During those ten minutes, I suggested that we ask the game moderator for a hint as we had five of them as our disposal throughout the game. Though, my group opposed as they wanted to figure it out for themselves which is an admirable quality to hold; whereas I usually just ask for help when I am stuck and in need of guidance. Once we began to find clues, leader-figures began to form and I was surely not one of them. I contributed in any way that I could to help the team but I knew that taking a leadership role was not in the best interest for group success.

In my professional career, I hope to keep in mind my strengths and step up when I feel it is beneficial, but step back when I know that others feel more passionate about the task at hand but still offer support and help where I am able. No matter where abilities may lie, it is important to be a team player in any scenario and contribute anything possible for the best interest of the group. In the end, my group was the only of three to escape. When we got out, I really believed that they could have did it without me because there was not much that I did at all. However, during the time we were searching for clues, Michelle had found an outline of a body beneath the blanket on the bed and someone suggested that someone else should lay in the outline and see if we would spot something new around the body. I knew that lying down is something that I could contribute (lol) and so I was happy to do that. Though my group did not find exactly what we were looking for on the blanket, John did knock into the bedpost while looking around me and found that it was loose which was the first clue that we found and what ultimately jump started the process and led to our success. I had not considered this until it was brought up after we made it out of the room. Something so simple as laying on the floor helped my group to discover the first clue which interprets to the idea that every little thing helps and contributes to the bigger picture.