Teachable Moment: Team Bonding

Team bonding is such an interesting concept. The psychology research shows that some things make it more possible, like having a common goal, dealing with adversity, and sharing positive feedback. But what's going on in the brain during team bonding? Well that's a bit more complicated and not well studied. One thing worth noting is that connectedness is important to bonding and to success. Our brains feel connected when we feel similar to other brains. 

One of the neuroscience ways we refer to this is "coherence". Coherence is the synchrony between two brains and can be a way one brain predicts what the other brain is going to do. Imagine having greater coherence with your teammates? In other words, imagine your brain being able to predict what your teammate's brain is planning or thinking. Well, that happens when we spend lots of time together on the field and get to know our teammates at meals and while socializing, all of which will synchronize our brains. 

The by-product of that synchrony is that we might then react quicker to our teammates' actions, which most certainly will result in higher performance. There are many other elements of team bonding and many other elements of neuroscience that likely make this complex experience happen. But being in sync with others is certainly part of it!