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  • February 2003
  • Background Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Identity Issues in Teams

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Hillary Anger Elfenbein
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:10
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Abstract

This note explains how identity dynamics underlie many of the observable interpersonal problems that team members encounter, ranging from lack of participation and low involvement to misunderstandings and dysfunctional emotional conflict. It provides a framework for understanding how to recognize and manage identity issues in teams, including sections on communicating identities, forming impressions, and the consequences of the resulting level of congruence between people's identities and others' impressions of them. Outlines action steps managers can take to increase the level of interpersonal congruence in their teams, which should, in turn, make their teams more effective.

Keywords

Framework; Managerial Roles; Outcome or Result; Performance Effectiveness; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Emotions; Identity

Citation

Polzer, Jeffrey T., and Hillary Anger Elfenbein. "Identity Issues in Teams." Harvard Business School Background Note 403-095, February 2003.
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About The Author

Jeffrey T. Polzer

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

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  • Foreword By: Jeff Polzer
  • The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Communication Patterns By: Evan DeFilippis, Stephen Michael Impink, Madison Singell, Jeff Polzer and Raffaella Sadun
  • Allison Andersen and Kent Wade at Trilling Foods By: Alexandra C. Feldberg and Jeff Polzer
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