https://youtu.be/2EoEAPfct7w?si=2QBZ9ONywALCnati
It’s nice to have a group of friends at work who you trust, can confide in, vent with, and dream with. But what happens when that group functions more like a middle school clique than a work team? Studies suggest cliques can become much more of a problem in a virtual environment than in a regular, face-to-face office.

As remote leaders, we need to be aware of how social groupings might be impacting the culture of our organization. One of the biggest threats has to do with the amplification of stereotypes. It is easy when we are in a tight group to develop a sense of us vs. them that will inevitably lead us to mischaracterize those who are not in our group. I see this in my organization consulting ALL the time. Groups or teams that don’t communicate regularly with other groups will develop self-serving silos. These silos can create internal tensions within the organization that will reduce effectiveness and increase drama.

Let’s agree to leave middle school behind. By intentionally addressing the natural formation of cliques, we can make sure our virtual teams are working together in a way that includes everyone. In this video, I go through a few more impacts of cliques and specific ways leaders can address these challenges.