Introduction to Team Cohesion

Cohesion refers to a group’s stickiness and commitment to each other for a shared purpose or objective. It signifies the extent of interest players have in remaining a part of the team. A highly cohesive group will have individual goals that align to group goals, complementary personality types, and group pride. 

What is team cohesion?

A group that works together, where each member does their share to complete an objective and receives recognition, will be more successful than a group absent of cohesiveness. Group cohesiveness increases the feeling of belonging, attracts high performers, inspires its members to make meaningful progress, and provides opportunities for recognition. Often, cohesiveness is a result of success, trust, high social-emotional support, or external threats. 

Some features of groups with high cohesiveness include:

• Shared goal or purpose — Cohesive groups work together toward a shared goal or purpose.
• Like-mindedness — Cohesive groups share similar motivations, needs, etc. that allow them to empathize and coordinate with each other. Note: Diverse groups can be cohesive, but there will still be similarities between them that allow for their personality types to thrive together.
• Communication — Cohesive groups are not afraid to openly communicate with one another to reach their shared goal. This includes helping each other improve through constructive criticism and mentorship.
• Experience and confidence — Cohesive groups are often groups that have some experience working together and are therefore more confident and trust each other. This goes a long way when needing to perform highly coordinated activities together. 
• Appropriate size — Cohesive groups are the right size for successfully completing the objective while providing opportunities for individual recognition to each member of the group. Groups that are too large often lead to subgroups or cliques, which leads to further withdrawal rather than cohesion. 

What are the benefits of cohesion?

Many of the benefits of cohesion are similar to the benefits of teamwork, as cohesive groups successfully employ teamwork:

• Mastery — Cohesive teams are teams that have repeated interactions. This saves time and effort as the groups spend less time setting norms each time they meet, understand what is expected of them, and are able to help increase each other’s mastery of the game.
• Sparks creativity and innovation — Working in a group will help spark creativity and lead to more innovative problem-solving skills in the group’s pursuit of their common goal. 
• Increases interpersonal skills — Repeated interactions will allow all members of the team to work on their communication skills, confidence, and shared decision-making skills, ultimately helping them in and out of team activities. 
• Social-emotional connections — Team members will often offer social-emotional support to each other, leading to attractive feelings towards each other and renewed commitment to the shared goal or objective. This will ultimately lead to more engagement in the game by increasing time spent in the environment. 

What does good look like? 

It’s important to look for signs of cohesiveness, rather than just signs of teamwork, to understand if teams are taking this next step in the game, which ultimately leads to stronger connection and engagement. 

Now what?

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References

• Ganotice, F. A. et al. (2022). Team cohesiveness and collective efficacy explain outcomes in interprofessional education.
• Johns, G. (1996). Social behaviour and organizational processes. Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work. 
• Keyton, J. & Springston, J. (1990). Redefining cohesiveness in groups.
• Paulus, P. B. & Kenworthy, J. B. (2020). Teams. Encyclopedia of Creativity.
• Toppr. (n.d.). Group Cohesiveness.
• Vedanta. (n.d.). Group Cohesiveness.