“The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing.” James Brown.
You can't argue with the Godfather of Soul! Dancing as a team building activity will probably produce equal amounts of clapping and eye rolling in a group. Spending an afternoon busting out moves to street beats or doing gumboot dancing might not seem terribly productive. However, dancing is an excellent problem solver. Fortunately, most classes are tailored to suit individual teams. Ain't no one gonna judge if you fluff a step or miss a spin. This is not Strictly Come Dancing.
Here are 5 ways dancing can help tackle team problems.
We've all seen Dirty Dancing. That lift takes serious amounts of trust. We all have to work with colleagues. How well do you trust yours?
According to Dr Peter Lovatt of the University of Hertfordshire, dancing is good for divergent thinking, problem solving, and figuring out a specific answer to a particular problem.
“We know that when people engage in improvised kinds of dance it helps them with divergent thinking – where there's multiple answers to a problem. Whereas when they engage in very structured dance it helps their convergent thinking – trying to find the single answer to a problem.”
According to an article in Psychology Today, dancing requires both cognitive function and muscle memory, making it very good for your brain. Great for staying focused. Got a bunch of half-finished projects on the go? Maybe you need to get your groove on. Seriously. Read the full article here
Got a team with issues and divisions? Dancing team building activities could go some way towards helping with that. Activities don't get much more social than dancing. And teams don't come much more tightly knit or successful than the New Zealand All Blacks. Perhaps it's no coincidence they do the Haka before a game!
It's no secret that dancing can get the old endorphins gushing round your body. There are few other team building activities that tick the physical, cognitive and emotional health boxes. It's also no secret that a happy, well-balanced team is a productive one.
Sources:
Guardian
Psychology Today
NHS
