Teams only work well when there’s a sense of shared identity. For a shared identity to work, it is useful to know who is, and who is not, part of the group. This is sometimes clear, but quite often it isn’t. It can happen that people have different definitions of what the group identity is and who belongs to it. This doesn’t have to be a problem as long as people know each other’s interpretations. Even more, the fuzziness of boundaries, and conflicting ideas of membership, can actually help a group be creative. [Irons, “Social Learning, Collaboration, and Team Identity”] As long as people are aware of different perspectives and they know how to deal with it, the fuzzy boundaries can be turned into an advantage.

However, when a person is a member of multiple groups where the identities appear to be of the same scope and on the same level (two teams, or two departments, or two organizations), it is probably smart to choose one primary identity. For example, it is hard to be a supporter of two football clubs in equal measure. And people with two nationalities usually lean more towards one than the other. This reminds me of the famous question, “If you have two nationalities, which country will you cheer for when their two national sports teams play against each other in the world cup?” For people in organizations, it is the same; they prefer to have one team to cheer for.

If you have two nationalities, which country will you cheer for when their two national sports teams play against each other in the world cup?

I’ve heard some coaches suggest a 60% rule: everyone should spend 60% of their available time on one and the same team, department, or organization. The rest of their time they can spend working with and for others. When it’s less than 60%, you can forget about a shared identity.

Jurgen Appelo is listed on Inc.com’s Top 50 Management Experts. His latest book Management 3.0 Workout, full of concrete games, tools, and practices, is available for FREE. Download it here: http://m30.me/medium

References

Irons, Larry R. “Social Learning, Collaboration, and Team Identity” <http://bit.ly/VjS9s1> Skilful Minds, 4 March 2010. Web.