Exploring Group Biases: You know how they are
This week I have been digging into the dynamics of "THEY" or "THEM." Inter-group dynamics come up when I work with large teams from different departments to help an enterprise go through a complicated technical change.
There is a ton of psychology work on this as it relates to politics and racial issues. My curiosity focuses on different teams within large enterprises when we are bringing groups together around significant technical changes. At this point, you are likely thinking; Tim is going to connect this to Behavioral Economics. That is where the 'Out-Group Homogeneity Bias' comes in! The bias refers to the tendency for people to view members of a group they don't belong to as more similar to each other than they actually are. This bias occurs because people tend to focus on the differences between their own group and others while overlooking the differences within other groups.
The Out-Group Homogeneity Bias (rolls off the tongue) can significantly impact change efforts. Suppose people believe that members of a particular group are all the same. In that case, they are less likely to engage with them or consider their perspectives, leading to a lack of cooperation and difficulty in achieving the project outcomes. We see this all the time when people talk about another group and make assumptions about how easy something will be for that group only to find out there is nuance and complexity when a member of that group joins the project team and shares their perspectives.
For example, when a company is trying to implement a new system or process. If the employees responsible for implementing the change perceive the out-group as less capable of change, they may be less likely to work with them and less likely to trust their input. We see this in subtle comments like, 'you know X, they never read the instructions' or 'they (referring to a group/team/department) don't get it.'
To mitigate the 'out-group homogeneity bias,' it is crucial to recognize that the bias exists and to work to overcome it actively. One strategy is to increase contact between the in-group and the out-group, which can help to break down stereotypes and increase understanding. You can do this with a champions group or change advocates groups. It is essential to create a culture of inclusion and diversity, which can reduce the impact of the out-group homogeneity bias. There is much research that explores how creative and innovative, diverse groups are.
Related to this is the work from Bruce Tuckman's forming–storming–norming–performing model of group development. Bruce said that these phases are all necessary and inevitable for a team to grow, face up to challenges, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results.
What have we learned? When we bring groups together for a project, even though they are all within the same company, out-group biases can be at play. When we are at the 'forming-storming' stages, it is critical to plan activities and time to bring the teams together so we can shift from US vs. THEM to we.
Resources for more fun reading:
