When you are on the elliptical machine, gutting out a workout, and sweating like a mad man when something on the TV makes you laugh out loud, it must be good. This happened to me on Sunday morning.
What got me laughing? It was story on SportsCenter about the “unusual celebrations” of an Icelandic soccer team. Despite not being able to hear the narrative (I had my Ipod blaring some Lady Gaga at the time), the video was captivating. The piece showed clips from YouTube of a number of celebrations this soccer team has done after scoring a goal. The celebrations have names ranging from “The Salmon” to “Rambo” and “The Toilet.” When I got home, I looked the piece up on the web and watched it with the narrative. It is awesome. I’d highly recommend that you watch it (embedded below).
These guys are having a great time. They seem to love playing together and you can see that they are having fun. It seems clear as you listen to these players talk about the celebrations that this freedom to be creative and express themselves is fueling their team. This creative silliness has become an important part of their bond to one another.
This got me thinking. Would we or do we allow our employees this kind of creative freedom at work? Would we celebrate (ahem, tolerate) this kind of silliness within our organizations? Sadly, I think that answer for most organizations is: probably not.
After watching the video, I think we should reconsider.
Great video Jason…and even greater challenge for us to step up and create environments where our employees can be creative with each other at work. I thought it was particularly meaningful that the coach had absolutely nothing to do with the great ideas.
Good points Jason. This is why I love intern programs! The employers are somewhat obligated to loosen the reigns and have a good time in their office space. Of course fun activities don't have to be planned daily but weekly celebrations for achieving goals makes the work so much more worthwhile.
Happiness can equate to heightened productivity, so yes, employees should be happy! It's not as easy to do these celebrations with a virtual office setup, though.
nice
Amazing video. And yes! We need to allow our employees this kind of creative freedom at work. Soccer is fun and will always be fun. I remember enrolling in soccer camps in new york when I was younger. So much fun.