his morning I come across a post on the LinkedIn that reads
“Putting people in a group doesn’t make them a team. A team is a collection of people with a shared identity who collaborate to achieve a common mission. Each member makes a unique contribution. Turning a group into a team starts with clarifying core values, goals, and roles.” Within a day the post has 17,000 likes and about 700 comments, mostly endorsing the view.
(https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adammgrant_putting-people-in-a-group-doesnt-make-them-activity-6716691443886407680-0UfI).
I have known several company boards become a dysfunctional team with ‘Shared Identity’. Which, to my mind is the single most important factor that led to many a corporate mishap. From Enron to Volkswagen and Satyam to Yes Bank, underlying almost every reported corporate malfeasance by a big company, this may have been the root cause. What otherwise would explain the failure of illustrious Board members serving to prevent the very thing that scripted these downfalls?
I have been a big follower of Prof Adam Grant. This is the first time, from tens of his posts that I have read, something has not resonated well.
Here is my two cents: while shared purpose n values, clearly defined roles, and functional norms, help a Boardroom produce superior contributions to stakeholders, the same is NOT true about ‘Shared Identity‘.
Why do I say it?
Shared Identity blunts diversity, introduces in-group vs out-group, and stagnates a team. It produces closed-mindedness, triggers complacency, and dries up innovative thinking; rendering the company board to become a sub-optimal team which in turn takes the path of least resistance.
I would advocate every individual who comes on the Board of a company to keep intact her/ his individual identity. That would ensure authenticity and congruence being channelised towards a shared purpose; paving way for steadfastly practicing the espoused values. In turn, the Board can evolve enabling norms of dialogue & dissent and embrace the differing polarities to storm through the vagaries of VUCA world.
We will be happy to capture your experiences and thoughts. Should you have the inclination to share, do not hesitate to ping us, we will be happy to call and capture your views.
Do reach out to ha****@fi*********.com or na*****@fi*********.com