Team Building

We had a meeting today with our Human Resource Director who came to feel us out for whether a team-building session would be appropriate. Those who were present, all six of us, agreed to give it the old college try, though clearly there was some skepticism. So over the next two weeks we are to complete a questionaire that will attempt to profile us in hopes getting a starting point on how to proceed.
This kind of stuff has been made fun off often in popular culture, including a commercial with the gecko from Geico. I can see why. I am not sure how old these kinds of exercises and workshops are, but my guess is probably a few decades, just young enough to be part of the generation gap(s). Nonetheless, I find it fascinating.
Years ago I took a personality test with the help of a behavioral sciences book. I came from a personality profile called "The Champion", but my score was on the cusp. I could have easily been "The Healer". Titles aside, the profile as read was uncannily accurate. My personality loves championing causes, prefering to see the big picture but overlooking necessary details and having a harder time with follow-through but always eager to brainstorm. There were other qualities too, but those are what I remember from almost a decade ago.
I think having our personalities objectified and classified so brazenly bothers people, because in this age we aren't supposed to stereotype and everybody is unique, like snowflakes. That might account for some of the skepticism exhibited today. But that doesn't change that there are patterns of human behavior that are prevalent across time, cultures, religions, and races. There are differences, for sure. But above all, there are enduring similarities.
Some of my co-workers' concerns were that as a group we are too political to be helped by what will probably be a half-day workshop. People aren't going to change their politics. By "politics" what I gathered was meant was sabotaging, backstabbing, undermining, rumor-spreading--all the unsavory things we hate but accept about modern day political science. There might be some truth to that. Personal agendas and vendettas certainly exist, but good luck getting people to admit it. And if we're not going to be completely honest in an exercise like this, how effective could it be?
We won't really know unless we do it, is my take. Plus I think individually we will all take something away from it. Some will just take more than others. But I think if Obama and Republican leaders are willing to sit and talk about differences, can't we? After all, we fancy ourselves as being different from mainstream politicians. Now is our chance to at least try and prove it.