Spring is in the air and that means many of us want to play hooky - or at the very least, tap into our playful side on the job. I recently revisited a NY Times article that reinforces the benefit of doing just that.

When we watch comedy, we begin to see differently and actually become better problem solvers. The surprise endings of jokes trigger unexpected solutions to challenges we're facing. We're able to connect the dots in new ways.   Researchers have concluded that "The very idea of doing a crossword or a Sudoku puzzle typically shifts the brain into an open, playful state that is itself a pleasing escape." There's a proven benefit to lightening up! So follow your impulses and indulge in a bit of play.

Neuroscientist Dr. Mark Beeman at Northwestern and John Kounios, a psychologist at Drexel University, have concluded that "Brains that show a particular signature of preparatory activity, one that is strongly correlated with positive moods, turn out to be more likely to solve the puzzles with sudden insight than with trial and error."

Check out this research. It provides proof that a positive attitude leads to creative problem solving - and a positive attitude just might come from getting outside to savor all that is spring! 

We Still Survive - and Thrive - in Tribes 

Curated by Kris Campbell, Managing Partner at BoldWork

From the time we're born until the time we die, we live our lives primarily in small groups. We seek to belong and maintain membership in groups and it can be devastating to our well-being when we are cast out from groups important to us. At its core, this need to belong to groups is evolutionary - we actively construct groups in order to prosper and thrive.

Throughout history, humans have formed groups for essential survival. We hunted, cooked and ate together. Belonging to a tribe allowed us to share the hardships of labor and protect one another. Not only were we ensuring our own survival, but all members of the tribe were invested in others' positive outcomes. We may no longer call ourselves "tribes," but many tribal notions remain embedded in our DNA, and we still protect and bond in powerful ways through group membership.

Since its publication in 2002, Patrick Lencioni's book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, has become a classic in the field of team and group development. Through the art of fables, Lencioni outlines five critical pitfalls that can derail and eventually destroy a team: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results.

Do you belong to a group that's important to your life, or do you lead or influence a work group that must perform at its highest potential? If so, we offer up an abbreviated, easy to complete questionnaire, based on Lencioni's research. Explore how the five team dysfunctions might be impacting your important "tribes."