'The best way to build bonds isn’t always the most obvious one': Edelweiss' Radhika Gupta ditches PPTs, embraces Bollywood dance to build team spirit

Radhika Gupta, Managing Director of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, is shaking things up when it comes to corporate team building. In a LinkedIn post, Gupta described a unique experiment implemented during a company offsite in Kochi.

Traditionally, strategy meetings involve presentations, reports, and hours of sitting around a table. But Gupta's team ditched the typical format for something far more engaging – a surprise Bollywood dance class!

The leadership team arrived expecting a two-hour strategy session, only to find an empty room and enthusiastic choreographers. The initial confusion quickly gave way to amusement and a touch of apprehension. Gupta describes the shift in sentiment: "We went from 'Why are we here' to 'This is not so bad' to 'We killed it together' once we got off stage."

"We experimented with a surprise in our last offsite in Kochi.  On Day 1, HR announced a 2 hour strategy meet for our leadership team. Everyone was surprised because no one had been asked to prepare PPTs in advance and we don’t usually do surprise meets like this.

When we reached there we saw no tables and conference set up, but an empty room, and two cool looking choreographers. Turns out the strategy meet was two hours of learning how to dance to Bollywood songs in a coordinated way… to be performed on stage later that evening for the entire 300+ AMC," Gupta wrote on LinkedIn.

This unconventional approach to team building yielded several positive outcomes. The shared experience fostered camaraderie and a sense of accomplishment. Gupta highlighted the importance of stepping outside the comfort zone: "The best way to build bonds isn't always the most obvious one."

The surprise dance class not only promoted team bonding but also likely sparked creativity and innovation. Stepping away from the routine boardroom environment can encourage fresh perspectives and problem-solving approaches.

"And we went from “Why are we here” to “This is not so bad” to “We killed it together” once we got off stage. It was fun, competitive, great for bonding… and very unconventional.

The best way to build bonds isn’t always the most obvious one," she said.

While Gupta's post doesn't mention the specific goals of the strategy session, it's possible that the dance class served as a prelude or follow-up to the planned discussions. The shared experience of learning and performing together could have laid the groundwork for more open communication and collaboration during the strategic planning portion of the offsite.

Gupta's innovative team-building strategy has garnered significant attention on LinkedIn. Her post highlights the growing trend of companies moving away from traditional team-building exercises and embracing more creative and engaging activities.

"Absolutely rocking! 🤩🤘🏽," a user commented. Another one wrote, "Once again Bollywood songs proved that ABCD... Any body can dance.. Just bajao the songs.. And to see the enthusiasm was marvelous!"

"Highly applicated initiative, this helps each one of us bring out the inner human being we are, compared to the tag we all carry that differentiates us, which also creates a bridge between each one of us, I guess more such activities will help us build a better bond and a better work culture, that will give all employees the pride of working in such organizations," a third user wrote.