The risks of toxic team harmony

What it’s all about

Harmony in teams is a key feature of successful collaboration. It promotes mutual respect, motivation and facilitates communication. These positive characteristics lead to a working environment in which creativity and productivity can flourish. But there is also a flip side to this coin: too much harmony can have a toxic effect and hinder the team’s development. Below we look at when harmony becomes harmful, how to recognise it and what negative consequences it can have for a team.

When does harmony become harmful?

Harmony in a team becomes toxic when it leads to the prioritisation of interpersonal well-being at the expense of performance. The point at which harmony becomes problematic can be defined as the moment when team members are willing to avoid conflict in order to keep the peace, even though these conflicts are necessary to make decisions and solve problems. This often leads to a culture of “consent dynamics” where members are unwilling to share their true views for fear of disrupting the harmony.

The mechanisms of excessive and harmful harmony in teams

The desire for social acceptance

A fundamental mechanism that contributes to excessive harmony in teams is the desire for social acceptance. Team members often feel the need to be liked and accepted by their colleagues. This need then leads them to conform and withhold their own opinions or concerns so as not to cause conflict. Especially in teams with a strong group bond, the pressure to conform can be very high.

The fear of conflict

Closely linked to the desire for social acceptance is the fear of conflict. They are perceived as threatening, especially if team members have had negative experiences with conflict or believe that conflict could jeopardise the harmony and cohesion of the team. This fear leads to potentially conflicting issues being avoided or not addressed, resulting in superficial harmony.

Group polarisation and groupthink

Group polarisation and groupthink are further mechanisms that can contribute to excessive harmony in teams. Group polarisation describes the phenomenon that the opinions of individual group members are extremely aligned, divergent opinions are suppressed and the group thus adopts a uniform but possibly extreme position.

Groupthink is a situation in which the pursuit of consensus is so strong that critical thinking and individual opinions are suppressed. Team members tend not to express or question dissenting opinions so as not to jeopardise group cohesion. This results in poor decision quality as important information or perspectives are not taken into account.

Leadership and corporate culture

The role of leadership and the organisational culture also play a crucial role in the development of excessive harmony. Managers who pursue an authoritarian or strongly consensus-orientated leadership model create a culture of harmony in which dissent is not welcome. If managers avoid conflict or are not open to critical feedback, this behaviour is usually adopted and even reinforced by team members.

In a corporate culture that prioritises harmony above all else, great emphasis is often placed on collaboration and a pleasant working environment. This is positive in itself, but becomes problematic when it leads to a general avoidance of differing opinions and a suppression of criticism.

Lack of communication skills

If team members do not have the necessary skills to resolve conflicts constructively or provide critical feedback, they tend to avoid such conversations altogether. The result is a toxic harmony in which problems remain unaddressed and unresolved.

Mechanisms of self-selection

Many teams have leaders who like to surround themselves with like-minded people. This rarely leads to divergent opinions. However, when teams are homogeneous and have little diversity in terms of opinions and backgrounds, there is excessive harmony as there is no room for different perspectives and discussions.### Indicators of harmful harmony

From these mechanisms, we can automatically deduce the signs that indicate that harmony in a team is detrimental:

Lack of different opinions
Avoidance of conflicts
Groupthink
Hardly any critical questions or comments
Reluctance to express personal opinions

Negative consequences of excessive harmony

When harmony in a team is toxic, the following negative consequences result:

Performance deficits

The unwillingness to address conflicts and discuss them constructively leads to sub-optimal decisions that affect the overall performance of the team.

Reduced innovation

A culture that suppresses open discussion limits the creative thought process. Team members are less willing to contribute innovative or riskier ideas.

Deterioration of team dynamics

Whilst a high level of harmony can strengthen team dynamics in the short term, in the long term it leads to frustration for those who feel they cannot express their opinions.

Decreased motivation

If the pseudo-harmony results in team members feeling that their efforts and opinions are not adequately recognised, this has a demotivating effect and reduces commitment to the team’s success.

Loss of goal-orientation

With an excessive focus on harmony, a team can lose sight of its goals as it focuses more on keeping the peace than on achieving its objectives.

Strategies to manage excessive harmony

To avoid the risks of excessive harmony in teams, leaders need to create an environment that supports both collaboration and constructive disagreement. Here are some strategies to achieve such a healthy balance:

Promotion of open communication

Leaders should therefore create a form of collaboration in which all team members are encouraged to express their opinions and ideas openly and honestly without fear of negative consequences.

Creating clear roles and responsibilities

Clear role definitions and responsibilities help to promote a sense of ownership and ensure that decisions are made in an informed and accountable way.

Introducing structured decision-making processes

This can ensure that all relevant perspectives are considered and the best decisions are made, rather than catering to the lowest common denominator.

Conflict management training

Teams should be regularly trained in conflict management to ensure that they are able to resolve disagreements constructively and productively on their own.

Establish a feedback culture

Regular and honest feedback allows problems to be recognised early and resolved before they escalate.

Conclusion

Harmony is important in a team, but its importance must not jeopardise team performance. A balance of harmony and constructive conflict resolution is crucial to ensure that team harmony does not lead to stagnation, underperformance and loss of innovation. By promoting a culture of open communication, clear roles and responsibilities, structured decision-making processes and regular feedback, you can minimise the risks of excessive harmony and ensure the long-term performance of your team.

Practical implementation

The leader as a driver of “good” harmony

To implement these strategies effectively, managers must actively role model constructive conflict resolution and open communication and regularly create opportunities for the team to express different opinions and work out solutions together. Workshops, team-building activities and regular feedback sessions help to achieve this.

Involvement of all team members

Another important measure is the involvement of all team members in the decision-making process. This not only means that all voices are heard, but also that each individual shares responsibility for the decisions made. This can be achieved through rotating moderator roles in meetings or through specific areas of responsibility within the team.

Long-term perspective

Ultimately, the focus must be on a long-term perspective. Excessive harmony may seem attractive in the short term, but the long-term negative consequences are considerable. Consciously and continuously working towards a balanced team dynamic that leaves room for different opinions and constructive debate is crucial for the long-term success of a team.

Closing thoughts

Finding the balance between harmony and productive conflict is a challenge that requires continuous attention and adaptation. It is an ongoing process that depends on the willingness of all team members to actively engage and be open to change. When this balance is achieved, a team can work not only harmoniously, but also highly productively and innovatively, which ultimately leads to better results and a stable team culture.