Why Rituals can help your Team Build Connection & Trust

EVERY Friday in Sweden 🇸🇪

it’s the law to eat…

🌮 Tacos 🌮

On Friday evenings families across the country stay at home and eat tacos.  It’s that common that Friday is referred to as ’Taco Friday’.

Me and my family have created our own Friday Taco ritual with some really interesting learnings.

We call our version "Waco Tacos”.

We dress up in fancy dress, turn on some lively Mexican music and enjoy eating tacos together. 🎩 🎶🌮

It’s become our go-to way of ending the week. A weekly ritual we all look forward to. A small celebration of our family. 🥳

But what are the consequences of our Friday ritual?

😊 We’ve learnt that we create moments that everyone cherishes.

❤️ It’s more than just tacos. We’ve created a ritual that has meaning and connects us as a family. 

💪 It energises us after a busy week, improving our wellbeing and quality of life. 

Do you have any family rituals?

I’ve looked at some research * on rituals and it shows that rituals help sooth anxieties and pressures of the everyday world we live in.

Rituals can provide structure and predictability in an uncertain word. When carrying out a ritual you know what to do and when to do it.

This provides a sense of control, having a positive impact on your wellbeing.

A study by Alison Brooks ** shows that rituals actually help improve performance by reducing anxiety.


👉So in a world of hybrid and remote working, how can we apply these learnings to create better conditions in workplaces?

I’m a big advocate of creating rituals in corporate teams. Developing your own rituals specific to your team.

Whether it’s how you start or finish a meeting, how you celebrate success in the team or by having a ‘team-song' to kick-off your day. It seems to be worthwhile investing some time in creating your own rituals.

What are the benefits to your team?

🤝 Creating a feeling of belonging, sensing you’re part of a bigger organism.

🙌 Helping your colleagues feel more connected and building team unity.

👏 Building cooperation and trust.

👀 Increasing participation and engagement.


Do you have any team rituals?

* Research by anthropologist and cognitive scientist Dimitris Xygalatas.

** “Alison Wood Brooks (2016). Don't stop believing: rituals improve performance by decreasing anxiety."