subject: Why Brackets in the Workplace Are Great for your Business [print this page] Why Brackets in the Workplace Are Great for your Business
By: David M. SchroederThe NCAA Tournament brackets are now official and if you haven't already read some astounding figure about how much workplace time is "wasted" on the tournament every year, then check back in ten minutes and you most assuredly will. While the narrow view will argue that every moment of a workday should neatly fit into an activity based accounting model, reality says that a knowledge driven, engaged workforce also needs outlets to let creativity and team bonds develop. You say, give me specifics man'? Here's three ways that bracketology in the workplace can support a more engaged workforce.1) They engender team engagement about their backgrounds, education, and team interests.As people complete their brackets and discuss their selections with others the fabric of individual profiles is revealed. Where are people from, where did they go to school, family connections, and sporting bias are all revealed. These are important fibers that knit together teams to create empathy and trust critical to success when the pressure is on and innovative collaboration is required.2) They form memories and bonds of competition and shared experienceAs the brackets thin and the final bracket entries begin to wind down, people are tracking the results, sharing scenarios for victory, and engaging in good natured "smack talk". These are generally harmless and fun experiences that build personal bonds and shared experiences. Just as we built life long friendships and trust for game day in athletic practice, these scenarios build our teams for the competitive marketplace.3) The management and communication of the brackets can act as cross boundary project to showcase communication and information management skills.We've all been part of a poorly run Tournament pool, and generally poor communication is the key culprit throughout. Similarly, you've likely been part of great pools where brackets were collected in an organized fashion from across departments, communication was clear (and amusing) throughout, and in the final days frequent updates of scenarios were provided. The Tournament provides a great platform for highlighting the strongest communicators and flushing out some hidden talents of those passionate hoops fans.Embrace the tournament as an opportunity to develop teams and further engage employees. Create incentives for the month of March and April with basketball and bracketed themes. Highlight heroic attributes of past tournament champions as a way to highlight your corporate values.Make March Madness work for you and your team. http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/why-brackets-in-the-workplace-are-great-for-your-business-4474105.html
