Have you ever seen the so called "Trust Fall?" It's often performed on corporate retreats, team building exercises and I think it's a Youtube sensation now. A team member crosses her arms over her chest and falls, stiff like a board backwards. The team, as if to display their trustworthiness, catches her. How ridiculous?
What can we possibly gain from such an exercise? Does anyone truly believe this is the way we ferret out bad teammates? Do participants ever reject a team member and say 'Oh, just let him fall.' I mean the boss is there and quite honestly, its not how the untrustworthy operate. They would never be so bold as to openly show poor character. How many times does a leader call her team in and say, 'I need to test the team. I'm going to stand in the chair and fall backwards. I need to know you are on my team, so catch me!' I'm not sure who thought of this practice but my feeling is it was designed to separate a fool from his money.
Team building is a process that includes many touch points and requires serious attention. Communication is the key to building and keeping a team. Foolish exercises will only distract, drive on and act sensibly.
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