Think of the teams that you have worked with throughout your work life. Have you come across people who keep or who contribute more than others to keep you together making the them a cohesive part of the job at hand which helps to achieve the 1+1 > 2 phenomenon? this would be a type of social glue !
Thinking and reading more about the subject it is evident that this it is the same phenomenon that large cooperates try to mimic in the tools they use or on the other hand, collaboration products try very hard to build in to their systems.
These traits have been used in some of the tools out there that are marketed to cooperates for better communication in an enterprise. There by creating the social glue that can feed the enterprise in order to have better cohesiveness. The focus of this article is more on the human aspects of the “Social Glue” rather than the tools or products.
What is Social Glue in Business? In the human aspect!
It can be defined as the ability to take all the individual parts and stick them together as one single vehicle taking the whole Team/Social Group/Company forward at the same speed.
Take the example of a 4-member team of developers. One is a lagging behind not really contributing to the team and almost anti-social. One was a good performer previously and now unfocused. The third is a performer. The forth is the glue we are talking about in this article who is also an excellent performer.
The velocity of this team would be at its slowest member there by making the team under preforming.
The 4th member (The Glue) has an outcome to be achieved and without the first and 2nd members contribution, he would not be successful. He uses his relationships to either get this person inline to achieve the outcome at hand or to take out the member form the team or try hard to. He does it with all his hart and to make the first two members realize the required changes they need to make. The important fact is that he tries to get them inline and failing which take them out of the team to achieve the outcome.
This trait in a person requires the following fundamental behaviors that lead to a high-performance team.
Unconditional trust
Trust is sometimes over rated. Unconditional trust seems a big no no ! In the face of competition in an organization the ability to trust someone seems a bit far fetch leave alone being unconditional. Therefore, it is the main ingredient that leads to someone being the social glue in a business.
Focusing on each other strengths
Having led several cooperates I know how it feels like when people focus on your weakness. The ability to focus on strengths is a must if you are leading teams there by complementing each other to form the glue that cause the teams to function as one.
The service mindset
To be of service to others comes at a cost. Some think you are week and some unprofessional. However, if you look at your job as; to do grater good regardless of the consequences ! This is what I define as the service midst or to be of service to your fellow colleagues.
The ability to forgive
People make mistakes linking up to the second point here being able to move on and learn is extremely important. Sometimes we discount people and behaviors to only the negative side of things. Being the social glue requires a high degree of the ability to forgive and try continuously.
In conclusion all business have and develop these personalities as groups and individuals it is the duty of the leader to identify and mentor these people or gorps and create more glue. Tools can take you a certain distant but these people with the aid of the tools are the ones who really make a difference in a Business !
