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Key insights:

• Team performance is shaped by implicit norms, not just structure, processes and skills
• People automatically adapt to norms to maintain belonging
• Norms emerge informally and should be actively shaped

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How can my team have secret rules?

When teams are designed in organizations very often the focus lies mainly on structural design. In purpose-driven organizations, they also might focus on setting clear goals, tasks and managing dependencies.

But putting a nice structure around a team is not everything. There is more. If a team performs or not, is basically determined by various input factors.
To put it simple, let’s divide them in two:

Team factors include many so-called “soft” elements. But how can we actively work with them? To answer that, we first need to understand what they are.

What are these vague group norms?

A behavioral norm motivates people to adjust their behaviors to fit into group. If a member does not follow the group norms, the group may respond with sanctions, potentially resulting in exclusion.

From an evolutionary perspective, we are motivated to avoid exclusion from a group. In the past, being excluded often meant facing the challenges of survival alone, securing food and shelter without support. Within a group, these challenges were easier to manage and increased the chances of survival.

Luckily we are not in such extreme situations anymore, nevertheless our brains work like this. If you are accepted by the group you are in or not, might define your “survival” in the organization.

Will your results be recognized? Will you be seen as a good employee? Will you be on the next cool project? Will you receive the next bonus pay? Will you get a promotion?

If people don’t like working with you, these things will get hard

So a natural tendency to align with group norms arises. This can get so far to depersonalization, single people build up a “group-identity” – a version of them that fits to the group.

How do group norms get built?

Usually when a group is new, they arise given by specific organizational circumstances and personalities people bring. Once established, if the team changes, new team members might influence them, but often adapt to what is given.
To simplify it – this can be observed following Tuckman’s team phases in the “norming phase”.

Group norms are a often overseen and undervalued, but very important aspect of team dynamics.

Norms related to performance directly and indirectly impact how teams perform. As they impact behavior, collaboration and even results delivered.

What is expected to be delivered? What is too much? What is too different too far fetched? How many mistakes are allowed?

How can you work with group norms?

You will have group norms, if you are aware of it or not. So the best option is to observe and actively influence them towards your and your team’s favor.

This means fostering perspectives, beliefs and behaviors that allow a healthy performance.

Healthy because it doesn’t contribute on the long term to pressure your team members to performance, it will have a negative effect – burnout or higher fluctuation for example.

A key norm that has continuously been identified to indirectly foster performance is Psychological Safety – a common understanding of interpersonal risk behavior. This means, that team members won’t be rejected within their group when showing their true self and opinion, they respect each others competencies and are interested in each other (Edmondson, 1999).

This directly fosters behaviors that question the status quo, the goals the way things are done and motivates to give suggestions to better reach a common goal.

But this is just one example.

I encourage you to think with your team:

What beliefs and behaviors would allow us to perform better while we are satisfied and enjoy our work?

Any behaviors can be reflected and worked on.

With warm regards,

Magdalena