Are cliques bad for teams?
If you stand in a large group at morning tea long enough, it gradually splits up. Little by little, people subtly pull away to engage in deeper conversations of mutual interest. That's natural. Birds of a feather flock together. People want to be part of conversations they feel connected to.
The same can be true of teams. People seek safety by connecting with people they perceive to be similar. Sub-teams or cliques form when people perceive they share a group identity through some category like organisational rank, heritage, social status, age, gender, values, and life experiences. This is normal. And not necessarily problematic (Eastwood, 2022). But...
Consultants and researchers (Eastwood, 2022; Peretz et al., 2021) have noted that cliques can become problematic for teams when they
· Pursue different objectives to the primary team
· Manufacture and consume their own cool-aid (aka, groupthink)
· Compete with other cliques
· Keep information to themselves
· Ignore individuals without a clique who end up feeling isolated
If your team is made up of unhealthy cliques, what can you do? I agree with Eastwood (2022) that an effective team leader has a vital role in mitigating the negative aspects of cliques by establishing a shared US story.
The shared US story enrols team members into a shared vision, sense of community and the pursuit of common objectives. The US-Story transcends the clique and provides team members with the sense of belonging that the clique offered. The leader's responsibility is to know, own and tell the team's story to itself frequently.
To sum up. Cliques are not bad in themselves. They represent a desire to be connected. It is better, however, to have one big clique – aka, the team. A vital role for the leader is to create a compelling US-story that transcends the clique and bonds the group. What is the story that your team tells about itself to create belonging?
References
Eastwood, O. (2022). Belonging: Unlock your potential with the ancient code of togetherness. Quercus.
Peretz, R. A., Luria, G., Kalish, Y., & Zohar, D. (2021). Safety climate strength: the negative effects of cliques and negative relationships in teams. Safety science, 138, 105224.
