A few weeks back, I reviewed a book – The Social Brain – by Tracey Camilleri, Samantha Rockey and Robin Dunbar. It takes Dunbar’s academic research and theory about the evolutionary psychology of how human groups work and, focussed on the co-authors’ knowledge of large organisations, applies it to the working world. I love that book, but I’m the kind of guy who really appreciates a VERY high-level distillation of principles to work by. So, I thought I’d return to the book and see how well I could achieve this.
Dunbar 4 Dummies
The principle of The Social Brain is that a great deal is understood about group psychology, (which is distinct from individual psychology), but it is far too rarely applied to the management of organisations. Organisations designed and run on these principles have happier employees and better productivity.
3 Principles
Humans are inherently wired for social connection, and being part of a social group is vital for our well-being. However, this is constrained by factors including time, brain size, and hormonal responses.
The well-being of a group hinges on three key principles:
Group Size and Well-being:
- The size of a group significantly influences its well-being. People thrive in smaller groups where they can know and be known by others.
Quality vs. Quantity of Relationships:
- Relationship quality diminishes as the group size increases. About 60% of our social time is spent with around fifteen individuals, emphasising the importance of choosing these connections wisely.
Hormonal Balance and Equilibrium:
- Hormonal responses play a crucial role. Excessive cortisol due to fear and stress can lead to negative outcomes, while neurotransmitters like endorphins create a sense of safety and well-being.
The Dunbar Graph
The Dunbar Number, coined by Robin Dunbar, of 150 represents the natural limit on the number of meaningful social relationships that an individual can manage at any one time. It is based on research of historical and modern communities, including hunter-gatherer communities, historical villages, church congregations, Facebook friends, and science collaboration networks.
Below this number, communities can function on a democratic, person-to-person basis. Beyond 150, ‘scalar stresses’ emerge, disrupting communication, trust, and effectiveness, necessitating more formal management systems.
The Dunbar Number is the single most important unit in a layered structure within personal social networks. These layers, with sizes of approximately 1.5, 5, 15, 50, 150, 500, 1500, and 5000, define points where information flow is optimised.
Number Code
A corollary is that specific group sizes are optimal for different functions. Conversations are most effective with up to four participants; beyond this, the discussion tends to split. Effective decision-making involves groups of three to five, ensuring efficiency and preventing stalemates. An example is a monetary policy committee.
Brainstorming is more productive with ten to fifteen members due to a broader range of ideas.
For larger groups of fifty, structured leadership is crucial. Once a group surpasses 150 members, division into ‘we’ and ‘us and them’ dynamics and the emergence of silos become prominent, necessitating substantial organisational effort and structure.
We are Family
The small-scale communities of our evolutionary past were composed mostly, if not entirely, of family members – some related by marriage, some by birth. A kind of fictive kinship is also at work in some of the most successful organisations.
The feeling of kinship acts as a psychological safety net, fostering risk-taking, innovation, and long-term well-being. At work, replicating elements of kinship, like shared traditions, language, rituals, and stories, can nurture a sense of belonging.
Homophily comes in two forms: endogenous (elements that are part of your make-up) and exogenous (traits you acquire or learn). The first consists of variables that define you as an individual: gender, age, ethnicity, and personality. The second identifies the cultural community you belong to. It consists of what has become known as the Seven Pillars of Friendship.
The Seven Pillars of Friendship are Language, shared upbringing, education, hobbies, worldview, humour, and musical tastes. The more pillars shared, the stronger the bond and the greater the generosity towards one another. However, our natural inclination towards homophily – being drawn to those like us – can hinder diverse perspectives crucial for innovation and effective decision-making. Balancing this inclination is vital for good leadership.
Interestingly, endogenous factors (including ethnicity) are quickly overtaken by the exogenous effects if two people share the same Seven Pillars.
Leaders play a pivotal role in convening diverse groups, integrating varying perspectives, and incorporating new individuals from outside the organisation. This balance between fostering friendships and encouraging diversity is essential for a thriving, innovative, and well-connected workplace.
Hormones and Cohesion
Communities of around 150 maintain stability and coherence due to heightened altruism and support within close-knit relationships. It is surprisingly difficult to refuse to be generous to people we have known personally for many years, whether in personal or professional settings.
The bonds formed in these relationships trigger the release of neurohormones, fostering well-being, reducing stress, and enhancing trust – a crucial aspect of organisational social capital. Understanding these dynamics is vital for organisational cohesion and effectiveness.
We build social connections by engaging in shared activities like eating, laughing, singing, and storytelling, activating a primal bonding mechanism in our brains. This mechanism involves the endorphin system, fostering elevated mood, trust, and a sense of belonging – a fundamental link to our evolutionary biology. Activities promoting behavioural synchrony, such as walking, dancing or laughing together, amplify this endorphin effect, creating a powerful bonding experience.
While such joyful activities are often associated with personal life, their potential to deepen bonds is often overlooked in the workplace and shared meals or enjoyable activities before challenging meetings can enhance teamwork and outcomes.
However, bonding can inadvertently lead to exclusion and an insular culture. Proper design, monitoring, and occasional disruption of these bonding experiences are essential to ensure inclusivity and benefit a broader spectrum within the organisation.
Story
Because it’s the main element that brought me to this work, I’m putting a little extra emphasis on the role of story here.
Throughout history, storytelling has united communities and provided meaning. Stories, especially foundational ones, are vital for successful communities. Stories connect people, creating a sense of relatedness and shared understanding.
Storytelling syncs the teller and audience and cultivates a crucial but often overlooked leadership skill – listening. Story transforms listeners from passive observers into involved participants, ensuring a lasting impact compared to mere facts and figures presentations.
A manifestation of group storytelling we can use to defeat potentially destructive rule breakers in everyday social contexts is gossip. Whispered judgements form a moral network that reinforces acceptable behaviours. Organisations where laughter is rarely heard, gentle teasing is frowned upon, or there is no time for gossip lack those essential self-regulating communal practices where people are brought down to size.
The Importance of Trust
Team bonding is often overlooked in today’s fast-paced world focused on cost-efficiency. Organisations emphasise individual over group development, neglecting the critical aspect of building team trust. Trust acts as a lubricant, allowing for smoother interactions and enabling boundary-pushing. Both personal and professional relationships are social contracts upheld by trust. This trust is built over time but can be quickly lost.
A shared purpose and sense of belonging can expedite trust in large groups where personal connections may be lacking. However, there’s a risk of free-riders exploiting the trust and disrupting the social contract, causing network fragmentation.
Balancing trust, building it within teams, and fostering collective purpose is essential for successful group dynamics and organisational coherence.
Wonderwalls
A happy, healthy workforce enhances productivity and engagement. Physical workspace and its design significantly impact employee well-being and the sense of belonging. Equality can be reflected not only in policies but also in physical aspects of workplace design.
Open, inviting spaces encourage spontaneous discussions and breakthroughs, fostering a sense of inclusivity and productivity. The casual meetings such spaces facilitate are one of the most important sources of innovation.
Hybrid work risks disconnecting people from community and purpose. It lacks formative, casual contacts. Online meetings only hinder the building of meaningful relationships.
Summary
So, that’s my best effort at potted evolutionary psychology. I hope it serves to make this body of knowledge more accessible. But of course, it’s no substitute for the book The Social Brain, which gives plenty of examples of real-world implementation, or for the many other popular books, online lectures and academic papers available on this subject.
The insight I got from studying this stuff is of gossip as an evolved engine of morality, working away inside an organisation to regulate behaviour, but not always in a good way.
That’s when I realised I could hack into gossip group storytelling with video drama. Using it to expose the dysfunctional stories people tell themselves and stimulate the exploration of alternative narratives.
What do you get from the Dunbar worldview?
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