Grahame Paterson: Extreme sports can improve productivity, says Grahame Paterson

Team GB’s impressive stash of gold medals is inspiring many to at least fantasise about what sport they might take up for the next Olympics.

But while the commitment and dedication required to be a Jessica Ennis or Usain Bolt is beyond the reach of most of us, taking part in team sports is something everyone can try.

Indeed, some of the most thrilling moments at the Olympics have been the team events, in which individual strengths come together to form a coherent whole. For a team to be successful they have to work together, anticipate each other’s movements and communicate clearly. Above all, they have to trust each other.

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These same principles are equally applicable to the workplace, where sport can play an important part in the dynamics of a team by taking people out of their comfort zones and breaking down their defences. Last year the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development revealed a rise of nearly 50 per cent in the number of companies engaged in conflict management over the last two years. As a result many firms are now looking to sport, particularly team-building exercises, as an effective way of managing conflict.

Imagine teaming up with someone from the office who you barely know and who is holding a rope as you ascend a pole 11 metres high to a tiny wooden platform. From this, you need to take a “leap of faith” to reach a trapeze bar. Even in a professionally controlled environment, you can feel vulnerable learning to differentiate between perception and reality while still achieving your objectives.

Extreme sports, unlike mainstream sports, force people to work together to overcome the sort of challenges they don’t face every day. Sometimes it is not so much the physical challenge, which is not to be under-rated, but the mental barriers and illusion of risk people create themselves that can be the most crippling. Working together with someone else as you jump for that trapeze bar will instantly create a bond.

Will you become best buddies? Perhaps not. But will you have improved the office environment and the productivity of the staff? Absolutely.

• Grahame Paterson is chief executive of Transition Extreme Sports Ltd.