Superheroes as Peer Relationship Models
Are you part of a Dynamic Duo or a Fantastic Four? Build powerful, diverse peer relationships at work and tap into your and your peers’ superpowers.
First, there was “The Dynamic Duo” of Batman and Robin. Today we have the more equitable, diverse duos of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Ant-Man and The Wasp. Superman usually goes it alone but even “The Man of Steel” occasionally collaborates with his superhero peers of The Justice League — Wonder Woman, Batman, and The Flash — to thwart evil villains. These are all comic book versions of peer relationships and can serve as creative models to apply to peer-to-peer relationships in our own careers.
There is a plethora of research on the benefits of team and peer collaboration. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology co-authored by Dr. Gregory Watson and graduate student, Priyanka Carr of Stanford University, generated findings that demonstrate the benefits of individuals working together as peers on a team:
- They became more interested in the task
- Became more engrossed in the task and performed better on it
- They persisted 48 to 64% longer on a challenging task
As our organizations take on more complex challenges and attempt to take advantage of new opportunities, particularly coming out of the pandemic, they will rely more on team-based problem-solving. In many cases, these teams will be made up of peers versus a supervisor and subordinates.
Returning to our superhero metaphor, all of us seek to unlock and leverage our superpowers which benefit us as an individual contributor or as a manager/leader. But like Superman and his collaboration with the Justice League or the more modern, more popular Iron Man and his fellow Avengers, peers can experience a synergistic multiplier effect from their collective superpowers — or coming back to the reality in the workplace — our collective skills and experience. Time to dust off that Gallup Strengthsfinder assessment or your Myers-Briggs profile.
To take the superhero metaphor a bit further, let’s look at some of the “Top 10 Traditional Super Hero Powers” according to ComicBasics. They include speed, strength, and healing. Yes, mind control and invisibility are very cool but they are not as transferable to the workplace. Although, we all have had bosses that we suspected employed some form of mind control! Speed can be translated to agility. Many organizations are applying “agile” methodology to software development and marketing processes. Market share or high customer ratings can be a form of or indicator of strength. Training and talent development can be another form of strength or at least developing strength. Healing can manifest as customer service (or service recovery) and empathy.
Think about the peer relationships you have experienced or wish to develop in the future. Obviously, they can come in many forms. From collaboration with another peer to several peers within your department or division, across your company/organization, or even externally. Many peer relationships are organic or we are assigned to peer workgroup. However, perhaps the greatest benefit comes from making a proactive effort to create peer relationships.
Today, our organizations are working hard to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Much of the DEI efforts are appropriately HR-focused and center on recruitment, retention, and training. Many people outside of the HR function want to contribute to DEI and attempt to read and expose themselves to more opportunities to learn and impact DEI. I would suggest that taking a DEI approach to peer relationships is another way that all of us can both contribute and benefit. The return from these efforts can be impactful on many fronts. In her article on Medium’s TalentLyft blog, Kristina Martic cites five top diversity statistics. Two are relevant here. Research from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) confirms that companies that have more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenue. While McKinsey reports that racially and ethnically diverse companies outperform industry norms by 35%.
In theaters or via streaming, we are seeing more diverse superhero peer relationships — from the aforementioned Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man and The Wasp, and the broader, diverse peer set of The Avengers. It could be beneficial (and fun) to look at your current and future peer relationships through a superhero lens (see table below).
Try to further cultivate your current peer relationships and look for new ones. Chances are there is a younger or older colleague, a co-worker with a totally different skill set, a fellow employee of a different gender, color, or culture, or a manager in a different division or even a different organization with whom you can partner. So, take the initiative to unlock your superpowers and those of your peers. As Ms. Marvel said — “When you decide not to be afraid, you can find friends in super unexpected places.”
References
Parker, Clifton. “Stanford research shows that working together boosts motivation”, Stanford News Service, 15 Sept. 2014
“The Top 10 Traditional Superhero Powers That Have Staying Power”, Comic Basics (comicbasics.com), undated
Martic, Kristina. “Top 5 Workplace Diversity Statistics”, TalentLyft blog, Medium, 7 Jan. 2019
Western, Dan. “The Top 40 Superhero Motivational Quotes”, Wealthy Gorilla (wealthygorilla.com), undated
David R. Perry is Principal & Founder of Perry IQ, a marketing and strategy consultancy, and a former CMO in the healthcare and higher education sectors. He will be a member of the 2021 cohort in Bowling Green State University’s doctorate program in Organizational Development & Change.
