Capitalizing on Diversity: Interpersonal Congruence in Small Work-Groups

We introduce interpersonal congruence—the degree to which group members see others in the group as others see themselves—as a moderator of the relationship between diversity and group effectiveness. A longitudinal study of 83 work groups revealed that functional and demographic diversity tended to undermine the functioning of groups with low interpersonal congruence, whereas these detrimental effects of diversity did not emerge in groups with high interpersonal congruence. This pattern produced interaction effects on measures of social integration, group identification, emotional conflict, and creative task performance. Members of some groups achieved enough interpersonal congruence during their first ten minutes of interaction to benefit their group outcomes four months later. In contrast to theories of social categorization, the interpersonal congruence approach suggests that group members can achieve harmonious and effective work processes by expressing rather than suppressing the individuating characteristics that make them unique.