Module Three: Leading Teams

Our closest living relatives are Chimpanzees and their lesser-known cousins, the Bonobos. Both live in large groups but differ in their behaviour. Chimpanzees live in a male-dominated hierarchical society. They are aggressive towards neighbouring troops but are known to use tools and hunt together. Bonobos on the other hand have a society based on female bonding. They live peacefully and have a complex social structure that’s less hierarchical. Unlike Chimpanzees, they don’t use tools or hunt together.

Interestingly, Homo Sapiens flux between these states depending on context. We have evolved to promote firstly our own genes followed by those who are likely to possess similar genes. This means that we can be aggressive towards other groups if we feel threatened, but favour altruism if we don’t. We’re not actually very good at distinguishing who really shares similar genes and tend to do this crudely based on appearance and culture. Such ‘tribalism’ can be positive - consider the bonding you may have experienced in a sports team for example. It can equally be negative and dangerous, with racism highlighting one of the worst aspects of human nature.

Tribalism exists in healthcare, in several guises. Think of the ‘nursing’ tribe versus the ‘doctor’ ‘tribe’ or the ‘ED’ tribe versus the ‘Primary Care’ tribe. Healthcare tribalism can be useful and promote good team working, a positive work environment and resilience. It can however be negative if tribes don’t welcome diversity into the team or conflict unnecessarily with other tribes around them. Dr Victoria Brazil has some interesting insights into this.

Healthcare Tribalism