Shawnee Love   •  
August 16, 2010

A few weeks ago, I blogged about corporate rivalries, specifically the ones in companies rather than between businesses, and I shared a few tips on how to reduce these internal rivalries. I described how to put the first tip into action in my blog about creating a common purpose and today I am focusing on instilling on collective pride.

Before I do, I have a few words of caution. Creating collective pride to harness ego doesn’t mean ego is bad. A healthy ego is a good thing. If our sales people aren’t convinced that the company couldn’t survive without them generating revenue (which in fact it couldn’t), then they wouldn’t feel that same pressure and drive that makes them so great at selling. Similarly, visionaries without a touch of ego would be at risk of crumbling the first time someone told them their idea wouldn’t work. It is also healthy ego that enables a recipient of constructive feedback to go right back to work rather than cry in the broom closet.

Healthy ego is a good thing, and collective pride is its big brother, because our egos make us proud of ourselves and collective pride makes us proud of each other and what we are a part of.

We encourage collective pride by first having a common goal and then ensuring we all understand the value each person and department plays in achieving that common goal. In this manner, we recognize that we can’t do “it” without each other.

A final key to instilling collective pride is to create rituals for the group. Celebrate your successes, recognize milestones, and take every opportunity to remind your people of their achievements and why those achievements are important. From the fun summer party to a toast when a new product is launched, these events create confidence in the company and each other. They are simply what it takes to inspire collective pride.