Forget the Books and Just DO Team Building!

By Solomon Masala | Team Building

Sep 03
Do books about team building work?

Learning styles and office team buildingThere are three main learning styles: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Simply stated, we either learn by listening, by seeing or by doing. It’s pretty common to start with seeking information visually, which is why you’re reading this blog. You probably searched for “team building books” on the Internet to read and stumbled across a website full of team building expertise. Now that you’re here, maybe you’ll keep reading, or if you’re more of an auditory learner, you’ll look for something with music, spoken word or a video or two. Whichever path you use to learn about team building says a lot about your learning style.

However,  your learning style and the learning styles of each member of your team aren’t going to be the same. That’s probably one reason you’re looking at team building books, anyway, because your team isn’t as successful as you’d like. You all learn differently, and now they are looking at you to make that team building book (or website) make sense to them and to the team.
Books on team building are everywhere, yet, not everyone can learn by reading a book or wants to sit around reading (or listening) together. Reading and listening… that’s just another type of “meeting” to attend. There’s a huge difference. Team building usually brings up images of indoor skydiving, zip lines or other physical activities – kinesthetic activities.You can learn the basics of team building from books, but, you need the experience of team building to really make those lessons stick.

When you stop reading and start doing team building, the team has a better response and experience. Kinesthetic learning imprints more than the visual or auditory memory in the brain, it imprints memory in the muscles, too. New, physiological connections are created in each person as well as between the members of your team. It’s all very “sciency” – and it works.

Oddly, for you to see just how well it works, you have to do it. Don’t just trust these words, you gotta DO team building.

Don’t get us wrong, we love books as much as anyone. In fact, we have a free eBook of team building activities you should definitely read. But, you can’t stop there, because activities are made to be done. Once you see the difference in your team after “doing” team building, you get the experience of kinesthetic learning, and so does your team.

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About the Author

Solomon is a trainer and consultant who works with organizations and teams in a graceful, energizing, and insightful manner - transforming the individuals and the whole. Inspiring, palpable and sustainable, positive change is always a result.