27 Apr Group psychology and Team building

Nowadays group interactions are not just a subject that concerns big corporations, it is also becoming a field of interest in Psychology. Francesca Gino, in coollaboration with Julia Lee of the University of Michigan, Don Cable of the London Business School and Brad Staats of the University of Carolina, conducts a study that was later publish in the prestigious Harvard Business Review, Teams Who Share Personal Stories Are More Effective, where she talks about how to bring out the best qualities of the group by collectively working together. She adds that people instintevely talk about experiences that they know are share with others, rather than those that singles them out. This behavior helps cohesion and suppresses individuality.

Relational self-affirmation

Bringing out the greatest qualities of each individual without disturbing the group dynamic was no easy task. For this purpose, the psychologists had to use the realtional self-affirmation technique that helps understand in which cases a person can put out their best attributes in front of the group: “relational self-affirmation involves asking individuals from a team member’s preexisting personal network (friends, family, and coworkers) to write narratives about times the individual made a distinct contribution“, says Francesca Gino.

What the psychologists concluded was that for each employee, colleagues, friends and family members had to tell a story in which the employee had shown his/her best qualities. By doing so, the employee was able to realise his/her best qualities and this made him/her fell better about him/herself, increasing his/her self-esteem and performance, being more willing to propose ideas and critiques.

A problem with this alternative?

Eventhough it is absolutely positive to conduct this kind of studies in a group of people that work together, the truth is it is unrealistic to expect that a company will have the time to interview each and every colleague, friend and family member. So why not search a solution inside the group? Team building consists in actvities that bring individuals together by working in fun and dynamic interactions, like Coorporate theatre, where, in an relax and pleasent environment, people are able to restote the positive atmosphere of a group. If the indoors activities aren’t what you prefer or you want to take advantage of the sun and nice weather, Outdoor team building is a sort of sportive activity that stimulates the team work.

After this vibrant activities psychologists will start practicing team building as the group dynamic of the future!