“Can there be an ‘us’ without a ‘them’?”
That was the question posed on a recent podcast conversation with Dr. Brené Brown, Dr. Adam Grant and the author and humanitarian John Green.
Here’s an excerpt of their conversation:
In the end, they have a hard time finding solid examples of creating inclusive teams without a common enemy. In answering Green’s question, Dr. Brown says, “My heart says yes…history would say no.”
I have spent my life working with teams who have a strong sense of identity unconnected to any sort of opponent or enemy. Ensemble music is, I think, the perfect example of this.
We work together on a common goal, and while we can participate in competitions or festival performances, we aren’t really competing with each other – we are working solely on doing the best we are capable of as an ensemble. Certainly some ensembles choose to invent or choose a “them” in order to motivate the ensemble members, but it’s not necessary and I think is even counterproductive to music-making.
When we think of teams, we think of competitions. But we should also think of choirs, orchestras, marching bands, jazz ensembles, rock bands, and literally any other musical ensemble as the shining example of creating a robust, inclusive, powerful “us” without needing a “them.”