(By Maggie van den Heuvel)
The idea to combine team building with music, was triggered last year, when one of my clients asked me to do a workshop on positive connection at work.
During this event, I was a key-note speaker on "The Psychology of Connection at Work”. I spoke about connection within teams, but also the connection we create with the organization we work for, and even connections felt beyond that. Being able to feel a connection with others, groups and ideas, is something deeply ingrained in being human. We are “social animals” according to Aristotle and rhythm is an in-built mechanism to connect people in groups.
So, what's next?
I knew Nico as the drummer of our band Soulmania and I knew about his great work at Business Beat. We started brainstorming on the comparison between playing music together and working in teams. I dove into the scientific literature of human evolution, rhythm and our evolutionary tendency to bond and synchronize around music and beats. It all clicked!
Together with Business Beat’s other trainer and drummer Juan, the three of us then further refined the art of playing music together as a metaphor for effective teamwork. We then practically translated this to a workshop where people would experience the magic of playing together in a band, while at the same time building awareness and insights of some basic principles of positive teamwork. To name a few:
Being clear on the overall goal
Knowing one’s role and how this contributes to the overall goal
Mindful teamwork: listening and focusing on your own work (beats) while listening to others and staying connected to the bigger picture
Having fun while learning new things together
Transparant communication
Recognizing the basic patterns (rhythm) in the collaboration process
Knowing that silence is just as important for the end result as is sound
Playing to your strengths and helping each other within the team
Experiencing the joy of achieving results together
Since then, this workshop has helped numerous individuals and teams not only to have a fun afternoon creating some cool beats together, but also to reflect on eachother and on oneself from a new and fresh perspective.
The collaboration of Art of Work and Business Beat is a synergy and combines our strengths in terms of music, drumming, business principles and the psychology of people at work.
My positive experiences during the sessions strengthen my vision that people learn best while they play. Core insights from research on teams and leadership can be transferred in playful ways!
I’m excited to expand our offering to leadership development sessions in the near future. Leaders can harness the power of the music-metaphor to achieve excellence in team performance, building teams where people can work together towards a shared and valued goal with fun and flow!
I look forward to doing many more inspiring workshops together!
Dr. Maggie van den Heuvel, Organizational Psychologist, Art of Work / University of Amsterdam
Maggie is an Assistant Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on positive organizational psychology and she develops interventions to boost well-being of individuals, teams and leaders. Her expertise is in job crafting, team crafting, meaning-making, self-compassion and mindfulness. Besides her academic work, Maggie is an experienced international leadership coach, trainer, speaker and consultant with her company Art of Work. Her mission is to contribute to awareness, meaning and happiness.
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