In December, I got a call from an association that represents state motor vehicle administrators. With state budgets extremely tight in the current economic climate, I was pleasantly surprised they were even considering allocating part of their budget for musical team building. As I talked with a representative from the group I discovered that the economic challenges they’re facing actually led them to conclude that they had to do some team building. Now, more than ever, their board had to form a cohesive team, with good communication skills and solid relationships. This created an imperative for them to do some work with us.
But why team building through song? Well these potential clients were looking for a program that creates genuine engagement and includes serious brainstorming; a program that gives voice to ideas in an environment that’s inherently fun and uninhibited. They were intrigued by our experience showing that music is a great vehicle for doing real work, enabling groups to discover more about who they are and where they’re going. The songwriting process invites participants to take lots of internal information and give voice to it; filling flip charts with ideas, plastering walls with flip charts and then distilling it all – all the cacophony, clutter and chaos into a clear, succinct, pointed, and yes, catchy communication representing the essence of our client’s work – The Song.
In this case, the song turned out wonderfully and the process was invaluable. This group told us their musical team building program not only enabled them to “get to know each other better” but that “the song continues to keep our focus on our mission” and “accomplished so much more than just a song”.
