{"id":1255,"date":"2018-05-31T20:59:58","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T20:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dynamicteamsolutions.org\/?p=1255"},"modified":"2018-05-31T20:59:58","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T20:59:58","slug":"innovation-teambuilding-fire-drills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/31\/innovation-teambuilding-fire-drills\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation, Teambuilding, and\u2026 Fire Drills?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fire drills can be a major annoyance.\"\"<\/a> They force people to leave the building, they interrupt work and they can feel like a colossal waste of time.<\/p>\n

But as a colleague of mine just experienced, there are hidden benefits to the fire drill, too \u2013 and I don\u2019t mean knowing where to go in case of a fire. Being mandated to step away from your desk can have the impact of refocusing your mind and clarifying your priorities.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the physical aspect, too. If the day is nice and the locale has a bit of nature to it, it can boost your spirits and refresh you. Escaping the limited space of an office, and stepping into the much larger outdoors, can expand your mind.<\/p>\n

Getting outside can expose you to opportunities for socialization you wouldn\u2019t have in the office. You can\u2019t work, so you\u2019re free to talk, to catch up with people you haven\u2019t seen lately, to build connections with new faces. Bonding with and learning about others can change your perspectives and open your mind to new ideas.<\/p>\n

Finally, there\u2019s the opportunity for emotional release. Work is stressful, and when you are pushing at it too hard, it will wear you down. That \u201cexcused absence\u201d can give you a chance to reset, refresh and return to work renewed.<\/p>\n

So why don\u2019t organizations do more of this? Maybe not more fire drills, but more activities that give workers a chance to re-focus, de-stress, and interact with each other in nontraditional ways.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s sound science behind the idea. Gabriel Radvansky<\/a> at the University of Notre Dame has researched what he calls \u201cthe doorway effect\u201d commonly experienced when people walk into a different room and promptly forget the reason they entered it. Radvansky suggests that this happens because our brains construct \u201cevent models\u201d that match our surroundings. In other words, we focus on what is significant to that setting.<\/p>\n

What could you do to replicate some of the benefits of a fire drill? Here are a few ideas. How about an employee art show where employees can see another side of the people they work with? What about inviting employees to share the insights they gained at a recent trade show over a catered lunch? What about simply picking a beautiful summer day and inviting people to grab their lunch and bring it to a nearby park for a picnic? The possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid of being spontaneous, either. Pulling off occasional surprises can make these breaks from routine even more effective. Just make sure your ideas follow these guidelines, so they have maximum effect. Seek to put people in a new environment \u2013 occasionally outdoors if possible. Insist everyone participate, unless it falls after work or during lunch. Keep it short \u2013 no more than 20 minutes \u2013 so no one feels drawn back to their desk.<\/p>\n

The point is to nudge people out of familiar settings and into situations where they\u2019re likely to look at things a little differently, deepen connections with others and refresh their minds before coming back into the familiar work environment. Will everything they experienced \u201cstick\u201d when they walk back through the door and head to their desk? No. Some of it will evaporate when their \u201cworkplace mind\u201d kicks in again.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t underestimate the sticking power of experiences that stand outside the normal routine. Connections with others will grow \u2013 sometimes in ways that can inspire unexpected insights and collaborations. Thought patterns will shift \u2013 perhaps subtly, but they will shift. And, if nothing else, employees will come back ready to approach their work with refreshed minds.<\/p>\n

Want to talk more about how to help employees reset, refresh and reconnect for a more energized and effective workforce? I\u2019d be happy to help you achieve your goals. And, make sure you enjoy your<\/em> next fire drill!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fire drills can be a major annoyance. They force people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1255"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}