If you are like me and a little long in the tooth, some of the team-building exercises popular today may not be exactly in your wheelhouse.

The army crawling, the escaping, the boot camp, the midnight bowling, the all-day hiking.

Somebody pass me the Tylenol and an ice pack as my joints are hurting already.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no couch potato and I absolutely LOVE team building.

I love the strategic purpose of it, which is to help people get to know one another on a deeper level and develop an emotional connection.

But there is a better way to connect and truly get to know each other.

When each person understands AND APPRECIATES another’s natural wiring, strengths, personality, interests, and motivators, they can then have in-depth conversations that go beyond surface level interactions.

When you understand the “why” behind actions, words and behavior, you build stronger teams by easily extending greater empathy and grace.

And when we extend greater empathy and grace, we build emotional connections that withstand the difficulties that arise in every workplace. We are better equipped to face challenges head on with a united front, each person “having the back” of another.