Trust is the core ingredient that shifts individuals from working in parallel to becoming a team. It’s where ‘I’ leaps the barriers to become ‘We’. We’re social animals, we enjoy working with others, learning, growing and creating and teams give us that. Importantly, they connect us to others and enable us to feel like we belong. In turn, because we enjoy this more than working solo, productivity goes up and so does engagement. The result is a win-win, we simply enjoy coming to work more.
Logical right? So why do so few teams reach their potential? Why do so many struggle with conflict, battle individual agendas and fail to achieve intended results? In reality, fewer than 20% of teams achieve their goals and meet the expectations of their stakeholders.
According to Stephen Covey “trust is the highest form of human motivation, it brings out the very best in people”. Trust is defined as a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. To trust, requires vulnerability, it means putting yourself in someone else’s hands, taking risks because you know others have your back. Trust also heightens vulnerability as it means you encourage others to take risks, believing that their intention is to also have your back.
Innovation can only thrive where there’s risk. Failure is the fertile ground of learning, so eloquently illustrated by Thomas Edison’s famous quote; “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work”. There is in fact no positive change without risk and no learning without failure. So how can teams build trust so that they can achieve the goals they’re tasked with?
Music is an inherently social activity and drumming the most impactful of all. It is a universal language that cuts through our rational thought processes and connects directly with our gut, the source of our real selves. Drumming is an equal language, it builds trust by stripping away hierarchical and imagined differences, removing barriers and engaging us at our most authentic.
A recent 10-week study by the Royal College of Music in London found that group drumming can improve social resilience by 23%, anxiety by 20% and mental wellbeing by 16%. The research, the first of its kind is part of a growing body of work demonstrating the positive impact of drumming on mental health and well-being.
Drumming is also fun, harnessing the dopamine benefits of both creativity and music. Dopamine plays a role in mood and decision-making, its a brain chemical directly responsible for motivation and focus which means drumming is a great way to lift productivity.
Looking for something to energise your team and at the same time build vulnerability based trust, the basis of all great teams, then talk to us at The Ripple Effect Teams about a bespoke intentional drumming workshop. We create high impact, tailored and uniquely creative drumming activities that build trust in leadership teams.
