Team Identity & Development

Build strong and healthy teams through shared identity

Rowing teamwork

Why identity matters for teams

Effective teams are more than collections of skilled individuals. They are cohesive groups with a strong sense of shared identity. At Synact, we work with teams to strengthen identity clarity and connection, because identity is the foundation of performance, inclusion, and health.

Drawing on decades of social and organisational psychology research, our work focuses on three key dimensions of team identity:

  • Identity Strength: How strongly team members feel a sense of belonging and connection to the team.

  • Identity Content: The shared beliefs, values, and norms that define “who we are” as a team.

  • Identity Alignment: The extent to which team members’ personal and professional identities align with the broader team and organisational context.

These identity dynamics are not abstract. They shape how people collaborate, communicate, and lead.

Online social identity mapping

Navigating team identity challenges

In any organisation, especially large, complex, or multi-agency environments, team identity is rarely simple. People belong to multiple groups and bring intersecting identities that shape how they see themselves, others, and “us”. If these identities clash or compete, collaboration can suffer.

Research in high-pressure settings like emergency services shows that building a shared sense of “us” across teams is critical for effective collaboration (see Davidson et al., 2025). This means helping people navigate group boundaries, overcome barriers, and find common purpose—especially when teams are under pressure.

This aligns with earlier research showing that subgroup identities can strengthen or undermine broader team and organisational identity, depending on how they’re managed (Peters et al., 2013). The goal isn’t to erase subgroup identities, but to bring them together in ways that support a stronger collective.

At Synact, we work with teams to address these dynamics head-on—supporting collaboration, building alignment, and creating the psychological conditions for people to thrive together.

How we work with teams

We bring together insights from social and organisational psychology with practical facilitation to help teams strengthen shared identity and improve how they function.

We support teams with:

  • Facilitated team development workshops to explore and strengthen shared identity

  • Social identity mapping exercises for individuals, teams, or whole units

  • Seminars and learning sessions on the science of identity and leadership

  • Group facilitation or coaching to embed insights into ongoing practice

Our work is practical, evidence-based, and always adapted to your context — whether you're a large public-sector department, a mid-sized firm undergoing transformation, or a small business building its identity from the ground up.

FAQs

  • We use evidence-based methods grounded in social and organisational psychology. This includes facilitated workshops, social identity mapping, leadership reflection tools, and seminars on identity dynamics. Our approach helps teams build a clearer, stronger, and more aligned sense of “us”.

  • Engagements vary depending on your context and goals. We offer single-session workshops, multi-session development programs, or ongoing support across months. We’ll work with you to co-design a process that’s impactful and sustainable.

  • Stronger team connection, clearer shared identity, improved collaboration, and a greater sense of alignment with organisational goals. Our programs also enhance psychological safety, inclusion, and wellbeing — all critical for team performance.

  • Yes. While we prefer to begin team development engagements in person to build trust and connection, we can adapt our approach for fully remote or hybrid teams.