My reflections on the Corporate Theater
Yesterday I went for a corporate theater workshop with my department at office. In the beginning it sounded rather as a jargon only to get there and participate …. It was simply superb!!
The workshop began with an ice-breaking session where we were asked to scream out our names loud in a dramatic way. Later on, we were divided into various teams for many more fun filled and power packed games like mime, tabloids etc.. The stress was on teamwork and co-ordination. It also facilitated more communication among us, putting all of us at ease. “Creativity” and “Spontaneity” were the keywords. It truly awakened the sleeping child in all of us.
In the end it turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience where each one of us took a step forward towards shedding inhibitions, shyness and fears. The workshop succeeded in bringing out the creativity and the childishness buried within us. In the process we were able to bring out the funnier side of us and were also able to enjoy the funny sides of own colleagues with whom we had never interacted in this way before. The whole session boiled down to learning team work, co-ordination, bonding, knowing each other and knowing oneself.
I realized the drawbacks of inhibitions and the importance of bonding as a pre-requisite to effective team work.
By the end of the session, we had realized for ourselves that team functioning can only optimally happen as long as the individual in it is not rated separately. The apprehension that individual brilliance/inefficiency might be kept hidden in teams was also removed when it was seen in the games itself, that the team did recognize individual brilliance not only in their own teams but also across teams. It was also clear that inefficiency is automatically removed in teams over time without any interference from the management as long as the team is prioritized over an individual.
In a stress filled environment with an entirely innovative idea called the ‘Corporate Theater Workshop’ where each and every individual was given a platform to eke out his/her in-depth skills and treasured talents. It introduced us to that dormant self which we were unaware of for so many years.
The workshop began with an ice-breaking session where we were asked to scream out our names loud in a dramatic way. Later on, we were divided into various teams for many more fun filled and power packed games like mime, tabloids etc.. The stress was on teamwork and co-ordination. It also facilitated more communication among us, putting all of us at ease. “Creativity” and “Spontaneity” were the keywords. It truly awakened the sleeping child in all of us.
In the end it turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience where each one of us took a step forward towards shedding inhibitions, shyness and fears. The workshop succeeded in bringing out the creativity and the childishness buried within us. In the process we were able to bring out the funnier side of us and were also able to enjoy the funny sides of own colleagues with whom we had never interacted in this way before. The whole session boiled down to learning team work, co-ordination, bonding, knowing each other and knowing oneself.
I realized the drawbacks of inhibitions and the importance of bonding as a pre-requisite to effective team work.
By the end of the session, we had realized for ourselves that team functioning can only optimally happen as long as the individual in it is not rated separately. The apprehension that individual brilliance/inefficiency might be kept hidden in teams was also removed when it was seen in the games itself, that the team did recognize individual brilliance not only in their own teams but also across teams. It was also clear that inefficiency is automatically removed in teams over time without any interference from the management as long as the team is prioritized over an individual.
In a stress filled environment with an entirely innovative idea called the ‘Corporate Theater Workshop’ where each and every individual was given a platform to eke out his/her in-depth skills and treasured talents. It introduced us to that dormant self which we were unaware of for so many years.
This workshop was totally a rejuvenating journey for rediscovering the child in us... the joie de vivre that we seem to have lost in our race for professional success.
The glimpse of our true potentials and talent was very reassuring and gave a boost to my self-confidence. We should have more and more of these workshops. They seem so adequate and almost essential. They are also probably the best stress busters.
