Hey there,
How are you doing, and how's your week been?
I did an escape room this week with five of my friends. I'm sure it might surprise you to hear, we were awful!
We just scraped through (35 seconds left on the clock with, quite frankly, an embarrassment of clues).
But here’s the thing – it got me thinking about what makes teams brilliant.
Now, I’ve known these friends for years. We’re super comfortable with each other, and nobody was worried about looking stupid – we just went for it.
We tried everything, made mistakes, and spent most of the time laughing at our failures as much as we did high-fiving when we got something right (yes, that’s six late-40-year-old women high-fiving like we were in the NFL – totally normal behaviour, right?).
And yes, we wanted to win – we’re all competitive. But the real ‘metric’ was:
- How much we enjoyed it
- How we pulled together
- How fully everyone threw themselves in
The joy, chaos, ideas and effort were as important as the final result.
And it made me wonder: how often are our workplaces like that?
- Where no one is afraid to fail
- Where people are truly themselves
- Where innovation, joy and effort count as much as the ‘win’
Because here’s what happens when they do: people give all of themselves. They connect more deeply. They take risks. They get creative.
And then the ‘win’ – whether it’s a pitch, a project or escaping a fake dungeon in Shepherd’s Bush – becomes almost inevitable.
We left that evening bubbling with excitement and joy, and definitely closer than when we walked in.
Isn’t that the environment we should be trying to create at work – especially when times feel as tough as they do right now?
I'd love to hear what you think and, as ever, have a wonderful week!
Cate x
Hey there,
How are you doing, and how's your week been?
I did an escape room this week with five of my friends. I'm sure it might surprise you to hear, we were awful!
We just scraped through (35 seconds left on the clock with, quite frankly, an embarrassment of clues).
But here’s the thing – it got me thinking about what makes teams brilliant.
Now, I’ve known these friends for years. We’re super comfortable with each other, and nobody was worried about looking stupid – we just went for it.
We tried everything, made mistakes, and spent most of the time laughing at our failures as much as we did high-fiving when we got something right (yes, that’s six late-40-year-old women high-fiving like we were in the NFL – totally normal behaviour, right?).
And yes, we wanted to win – we’re all competitive. But the real ‘metric’ was:
- How much we enjoyed it
- How we pulled together
- How fully everyone threw themselves in
The joy, chaos, ideas and effort were as important as the final result.
And it made me wonder: how often are our workplaces like that?
- Where no one is afraid to fail
- Where people are truly themselves
- Where innovation, joy and effort count as much as the ‘win’
Because here’s what happens when they do: people give all of themselves. They connect more deeply. They take risks. They get creative.
And then the ‘win’ – whether it’s a pitch, a project or escaping a fake dungeon in Shepherd’s Bush – becomes almost inevitable.
We left that evening bubbling with excitement and joy, and definitely closer than when we walked in.
Isn’t that the environment we should be trying to create at work – especially when times feel as tough as they do right now?
I'd love to hear what you think and, as ever, have a wonderful week!
Cate x
