Comments on: Exclusivity Fits

By: Bret L. Simmons

Bret L. Simmons — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:43:53 +0000

Sorry to be so slow to respond, but thanks for comment! Bret

By: Lilliana

Lilliana — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:11:09 +0000

This example makes me a little sick to my stomach. So sad, but true. An eye opener for future team building and “inclusion” events.

By: LeaderLab » The Gender Stall Effect

LeaderLab » The Gender Stall Effect — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:26:32 +0000

[...] Exclusivity Fits [...]

By: Bret L. Simmons

Bret L. Simmons — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:35:34 +0000

That is a great story, Wally. Great point also that the ritual is not just a test and a tool, it is also a signal about who *we* are at work. Thanks! Bret

By: Wally Bock

Wally Bock — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:10:28 +0000

I think you summed it up well in the last paragraph. The beer drinking was both an “example” of their inclusiveness and a culture-indoctrination program.

Interestingly, I had a client with a similar ritual where two of the issues you mention we handled quite differently. When the office manager found out that some people really would love to come, but didn’t have the budget, she set up a system where the organization paid for the a week’s event out of petty cash.

They set up a donations basket where folks could contribute to the fund that would pay for the next week’s event. The office manager told senior managers what was going on. The first week of the new system, one of them (not the CEO) put enough in the basket to cover a couple of weeks.

At the end of a year, the “Keg Fund,” as they called it had enough in it to make a sizable donation to a local food bank. The office manager then started the next year by paying for the first week out of petty cash, and the cycle started again.

By: Bret L. Simmons

Bret L. Simmons — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:45:05 +0000

Ellie, I really appreciate this great comment! Would agree that group cohesion is a good thing, but it *always* also breeds a degree of group think. It feels good to be cohesive, so anyone that rocks the boat will feel the very strong pressures to conform.

I think the key to this team building is to be flexible and responsive. If someone proposes something different and is willing to help make it happen, go with it. Be willing to adapt and change to incorporate the variety in the group.

Thanks!! Bret

By: Ellie

Ellie — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:37:24 +0000

This is really interesting. There is no question that group cohesion is positively affected by social interactions like those you describe. However, no matter how flexible the organisers are, there will always be some people who do not wish to take part. We know that the difficulty of getting a team to work well together increases with group diversity, but we also know that the potential payback in terms of productivity should we succeed is far greater. The question is can we, or even should we, force people into this sort of social situation to facilitate better team work?

A previous manager of mine organised charity days every 6 months. Work would stop for a day and we would all go and provide some community service like painting a playground or clearing a park. He paid lip service to the idea of them being team-building days, but there were a number of problems (not least that he never joined in!) and so it never really worked. I still think it was the seed of an excellent idea however.

I think, once I have my own team to build, I will borrow his idea but tweak it to include a group lunch, an early finish and family friendly early evening events followed by something in the evening for those with the will. You can’t force people to make use of socializing opportunities, but you can make it as easy for them as possible.