Solomon Masala has seen more eye rolls than the parents of a surly teenager.

Masala, who has spent four decades assisting businesses, often opens his appointments asking for employees’ thoughts when their bosses announce the required participation in team-building exercises.

That is when the co-creator of Source Consulting Group, a Burnsville-based business that specializes in team development and coaching, sees people cringe, look sideways at their neighbor, or give an under-the-breath chuckle. 

And, yes, many roll their eyes.

While some employees may see team-building as a wasted day in the office, Masala knows the importance of these sessions and has seen it transform businesses. 

“We get calls from people saying they want to do team building, which is typically code for things are not working or we've got conflicts that we've been unable to resolve,” Masala said. “It's typically code for something's happening in our organization, and we're just not able to crack the nut on what it is that's going to make our clients feel more excited about that work we're doing, for us to have a team that feels like there's really a spirit of pulling together. So team building is usually the code word for ‘help us with some problem we're not quite sure how to solve.’”

Masala has traveled the country working with small businesses, school districts, large corporations and more. His methods range from experimental team building training, programs, and workshops to interactive drumming. 

“Our company is one of the leaders in what we call experiential programming,” Masala said. “In other words, we're not going to stand at the front of the room and talk to you for six hours. What we do is design interactive, experiential processes that mimic what happens in the workplace, albeit more fun, more interesting, more energizing. 

“However, team building is always about how do we actually help people move the needle on the specific skills and processes and strategies and ways of thinking that make them a better team player and a better team altogether,” he continued. “So I recommend that you find somebody who does it experientially. Otherwise, it's just going to be a bunch of theory thrown at you on PowerPoint slides that's not going to make a difference. The way to do real team building is to actually practice the skills in the moment, with the facilitator, with the trainer.”

Masala has published two rhythm education books, “Rhythm Play!” and “1, 2, Let’s All Groove” and has released three albums as a recording artist. He is also the designer and inventor of the Twister Drum, a collapsible and compactable djembe drum. His creativity and passion for music shows up in his work with businesses. 

Masala started his business “from the perspective of wondering what it takes for teams, for groups of people, to have a deep sense of real alignment. Not just, ‘Hey, I understand you, and you understand me. Let's go to work,” he said. “What does it take in order to have true alignment that is founded in excellence, founded in mutual support, and founded in the capacities that each person has to maximize the other person's genius.”

Now he coaches people to work together, listen to each other better, and move toward goals.

How can employers get their workers to take team building courses seriously? Masala said “the way to get buy-in from day one, when you hire someone, is to let them know you’re committed to this culture, not because of some cheesy poster on the wall, but because you know that when people treat each other in this way, your life is more fulfilling.” 

Employees who take the trainings seriously will get more out of the experience and will go home feeling less burnt out. 

So when is the right moment for this type of work? “Do it before the crisis,” Masala said. 

While it’s never too late to present team bulding as a way to help employees, it is better to do it before tempers or emotions reach a boiling point.

Masala gave these as examples of when it is time to seek help: “The moment that you start seeing or hearing the grumbling,” he said. “The moment that you start seeing people on the team circumventing a particular person. The moment that you start seeing people tolerating behaviors that are making them work harder. The moment you start seeing somebody railroading a process and you can tell that it's not collaborative. The moment you start seeing people on the team bailing out energetically. Those are all signs that it's time to do some work; time to do some work within your organization.”

As the new year begins, take a look within your company or organization and see if team building is something that could help take you to the next level.

To learn more about Source Consulting Group, click on its website: https://sourceconsultinggroup.com/.