Barely a week goes by when we’re not reminded about how supposedly divided we are—a complete split from necessary cohesion in the workplace. If a quick scan of the headlines on any given day doesn’t make this abundantly clear, a quick glimpse at statistics will.
To offer one example, in a poll conducted last month by FiveThirtyEight and Ipsos, 3 out of 10 respondents said political polarization was the top issue facing the country. It trailed only inflation and crime as a concern.
The effect on our interactions with the world has been corrosive. At times, it can feel like our entire being has been reduced to a single reductive label: liberal or conservative. Boomer or Mmillennial. Introvert or extrovert. Coke or Pepsi.
Some people think that these divides stop at the office door or upon firing up their Zoom. If only. Alas, even the most stoic among us can’t compartmentalize our lives at work and outside of it. It doesn’t work that way.
Even if it did, the workplace is hardly a magical place free of disagreement, power struggles, and clashing values. (It’s not for nothing business units are called “divisions!”) As consultants, we experience division every day in the organizations we work with: between marketing and R&D. The CEO and her board of directors.
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The young go-getters and the establishment. Nor is our own organization somehow immune to these challenges that stem from human nature—emblematic of personality differences in the workplace.
Achieving organizational cohesion under these circumstances is indeed a tall order. But not an impossible one.
This article will offer advice for building organizational cohesion in your office. With deliberate action and an open mind, you can build a strong work environment that brings team leaders and team members together, despite their differences.
Let’s get started.
Team Cohesion in the Workplace: Strive for Unity, not Uniformity
Group cohesion starts with redefining what we mean by “unity.” Too often leaders—whether business, political, or in a different domain—think that it means uniformity. That it means a culture where everyone believes the same thing (at least publicly) or holds the same exact values.
For one, this is simply impossible. Any dynamic organization will be made up of unique people with unique life experiences. Two, real workplace cohesion isn’t the result of sameness. On the contrary, uniformity is fake unity. Organizational alignment results from courageous and humble acceptance of differences. And differences are the raw material of innovation.
Finding a healthier, more constructive type of unity that embraces difference is no easy task. We say we value different points of view but rarely seek them out. And when we do encounter them, we pretend to be listening but are really just formulating our next rebuttal. We are seduced by a phony sameness that we confuse for unity. We stay in our cozy bubbles.
We stay scared of conflict and disagreement—and try our darndest to avoid both. The world has a way of finding us, though. As leaders, we’re confronted with events that force us to leave said cozy bubbles.
You shouldn’t run from differences between team members. Rather, your mission is to create workplace conditions that allow people to be different while still maintaining respect for each other and effectively working together toward a common goal. That’s unity.
Workplace Cohesion: Embrace Disagreement
Whether you’re deciding where to invest millions or where to spend the weekend, or whether you’re in the boardroom or in the living room, disagreement is inevitable.
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That being the case, try modeling a new approach when you have to make a decision for your organization and disagreement comes up:
1) Stop being defensive by default
2) Consider—really consider—alternative viewpoints
You don’t have to sign off on them, but you should at least give them a hearing. Make your goal to understand. You don’t have to agree.
Ask yourself, “What if we were more concerned with how we handle a disagreement than whether or not we resolve it? What if we found ways to remain convinced of our point of view, but accepted that others could have a different view? What if we sought not to convert others to our way of thinking, but sought to deeply understand the positions of others? Could it be that if we did this, getting our way might become less important than getting things done?”
This process sure isn’t easy. Embracing disagreement is one of the hardest things we instruct our clients to do. Accept disagreement—okay. But embrace it? That’s a different kettle of fish. One that just may improve your team performance.
"In business, when two people always agree, one of them is irrelevant. "
– William Wrigley
The Importance of Organizational Cohesion: Focus on Shared Goals and Values
The beauty is that once you accept that differences and disagreements in an organization are okay, you can move on. You no longer have to live in fear of dissent, conflict, or any anything else that reminds you your office isn’t Candyland.
If something comes up, you understand that it can be dealt with. Now you can direct your attention from being overly focused on resolving conflict to focusing on team goals.
Building team cohesion in the workplace isn’t about ignoring differences or trying to paper over them. But whether you lead Boomers, Xers, Millennials, or Gen-Zers, you have to eventually move on to leveraging what actually brings everyone together. Here are some tips for doing just that.
- Remember that you’re in this together. No really, you are. When your managerial interactions are focused solely on differences, employees will constantly look for data to bolster their case, disregarding everything they have in common.The best way of building team cohesion is to zoom out to focus on your larger goals. Instead of dwelling on people’s differences, choose instead to highlight the unique value everyone brings to the table
- Expect give and take. There’s never a one-size-fits-all when it comes to how managers help their teams succeed. However, the imbalance in power between superior and subordinate often renders the managerial relationship one-sided.Depending on your context and business environment, you may have to overemphasize how “moving forward requires both of us to give a little.” You may manage best with formal email communication. You may like to track leaders’ progress via well-thought-out status updates, framed in complete sentences in the Queen’s English.
However, if that’s not your leader’s jam (forgive me), you’ll be well served creating space for her to use pithy, emoji-based updates and unannounced drop-ins when you must be available on the fly to go deep on the topic.
- Celebrate togetherness. As the proverb goes, a long journey is made up of many short steps. Keep an eye out for the little wins along the way and call attention to how those are shaping the interactions and outcomes between you and those you lead.It’s often the mundane things that bind people together. In the heat of a worthy challenge, you’d be surprised at how quickly differences can melt away—so long as everyone truly has each other’s back.
You needn’t fear individual differences in the workplace. (Not that you could avoid them if you tried.) In the long run, you’ll be far better off accepting them and then moving beyond them in shared motivation.
I’m convinced that despite all of our supposed current divisions, most people have a hunger for connection, especially in our topsy-turvy post-pandemic world. I’m doubtful that most are happy with the current state of affairs. Even in a world of ever-increasing difference, people want to be part of a cohesive team. And that’s one thing we can agree on.
Tip
Building strong workplace cohesion doesn’t happen overnight, especially in such charged times. Try to remind yourself of this when you inevitably take a step or two backwards. Stay the course—creating a strong team that respects each other is a goal worth reaching for.