COHESION: Together We’re…?

Cohesion (also called group cohesion, social cohesion, or group cohesiveness) is a force that keeps people together and bonds them.

The concept appeared in the works of the 14th-century scholar Ibn Khaldun, who used the word “asabiyya” (Arabic,  عصبيّة). Ibn Khaldun described it as the bond of cohesion among humans in a group-forming community (tribes and clans).

Generally, it is considered a positive phenomenon. Some studies showed that the more cohesive the group, the better it performed. Moreover, the relationship had positive feedback: the better the group performed, the more cohesive it became. Thus, managers, especially the “effective” ones, seek to increase cohesion through useless team-building activities.

However, cohesion is not a parameter to increase or decrease but a complex phenomenon with different types and layers.

Almost everything will depend on the group’s goal, composition, and context. {GROUPS: A PARAMEDIC APPROACH} For instance, the more cohesive the group is, the more prone it might be to groupthink—collective distortion of reality.

When we lead groups with overlapping but individualized goals, like any lab, pushing “team spirit” to them might backfire. What suits a herd of whatever shepherd might not benefit a group of highly qualified professionals.

Should there be cohesion? Yes, but primarily, it should be based on wanting to reach the endpoint together and understanding that we cannot do that independently.

{GROUP GOAL MIX, ENDPOINT TIERS, GROUPTHINK, OMERTA, TRUST, THE DICHOTOMY}