Why here I ask Enterprise companies to take time for the game

I recently found myself in a room full of engineers and program managers at an enterprise company. These were data -driven people, on laser -based delivery. I had only a few minutes to get them all in the right mindset to be creative and open.

I was not sure how my warm -up was going.

The warm -up was a simple activity. When a team stands in a circle, I asked them to say ABCS and take every letter saying. But they could not go into the circle. And they had only one minute to complete the work. If they were somehow messed up – as two people say a letter at the same time – they had to resume.

I saw when the team started “A” … “B” … Then at the same time two people said “C”. They all laughed and started from above.

It happened repeatedly, everyone knows well that their minutes are colliding. The group laughed under pressure. And finally, the minute was over. But the smiles remain. I told them that it was okay for them to end, and I congratulated them on congratulating them and spending a good time.

In fact, most teams do not end. There is a reason behind this warm-up activity-a moral that applies to their work and their lives.

In most companies I have worked with, teams are based on the deadline that they do not bother to develop a strategy before drowning. They do not feel that they have time to slow down and establish the game plan with the start, middle and end. The only purpose is to ship. Unfortunately, it is the root of many teams suffering problems that produce products, services and programs that are not effective. They need to slow down the slopes.

If the group involved in this room had taken 10 seconds in front of the strategy (ie, pointing to the next person), they would easily eliminate this activity in 30 seconds.

The warmths should have fun-they should encourage people to communicate, laugh, see each other and fail together or succeed-but this should not be their sole purpose. There should be a micro intervention in a warm -up disguise. A meaningful ritual that creates the team’s culture, helps team colleagues become more weak and helps their brains remain open for innovation. Corporations do not have modern solutions because they do not encourage their teams to play, but the right warm -up exercise can fix it.

Related: The amazing benefits of fun in work

“Without danger, you have no innovation.”

In your Netflix Show, Brian Brown has said of corporate teams: “Without danger, you have no innovation. If you are not willing to build a weak culture, you cannot create.” I really believe it and take it from my heart. And science supports it.

Emi Edmundson Developed the concept of Harvard Psychological safety B (b (b ( The belief that you will not be interpreted as an embarrassment or will not be punished for speaking. This is an important component of the team’s performance. Warmups that invite a little unemployment or discomfort (such as, movement, storytelling, improvised) help to cope with danger and strengthen psychological safety. By creating a place that allows people to be a bit stupid together, you can build confidence among your team – and with the help of a trust drive.

Which brings me to another study.

Breaking up mental roots and promoting creativity

The default mode of the brain rules to dream and think habit during the day. State change – such as laughter, physical movements or novelty – affects DMN and increases Different thinking. Therefore, getting your team out of its usual condition can physically awaken their brains and they can be more accepted by the box.

This does not need to be a heavy lift. Exchange, which includes personal stories or shared experiences, whether it is warm -up, non -work -related slack messages, or even the upper part of each meeting takes five minutes so that only meaningful but irrelevant conversations can be made, team members can help each other as a human being, and help each other.

Related: “Want to increase your team’s performance? Want to laugh them”

Build real contacts

Another warm -up I led went away: I told everyone in the room to stand, form a circle and hold two people’s hands from them. Once they all joined hands, I told them that – without going – they all had to open themselves as a team. I met me with disbelief and nervous laughter. But they went for it. They made a strategy to find out who and under whom, to understand how to open themselves from a human knot in which they were. And they did it.

In fact, they were in two circles that were over -leap, which were soon met with observation, “A van Arah – how cool!” And that the day was micro -interference: there was no major hairball that they could not solve if they contact him carefully and for each other. Really connected

Game is the place where innovation grows

Innovation is so difficult for teams to be right, and one of the main reasons is that people allow their brain to go to the auto pilot when they are at work. It is said that madness is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results, and that is exactly what happens. But think about that in your childhood, on your creative and curious. Your brain was not only because of school, but because you were playing, spreading and learning.

Rick Robin, one of the most creative, seminal and famous record producers of our time, says in his book, Creative process: a way of existence: “We’re not playing to win, we’re playing to play. Perfectism comes in the way, and the game is a heart of creative work.” And that’s fine. The game is very important if you want to go out of your head.

Some blasphemous people believe that this warm -up is often a waste of 10 minutes of these meetings, but I know this is the most important 10 minutes because I have seen it work. Make this time. Trust it. Make that safe place. The more your team laughs, smiles, moves and plays together, the more modern and fruitful.

Related: 5 ways to influence creativity and innovation in your employees