Groups and acronyms

Another observation from Monty Python, how groups can create poisonous cultures and how we talk and use acronyms is a part of it.

I think that almost all specialized internal term use within a team grows from a feeling of mutual belonging, knowledge created from working together and that using this language saves time. A beauty of this is that language mixes with culture and becomes an identity, when this is used to create trust between team members it can make work just that little bit more fun on a daily basis. Joining such a team can be a bit painful, understanding the internal language is in worst case a hurdle that a new team member needs to overcome to become integrated in the team.

Beware of the dark side, when the culture leads to isolation from other teams or failure to accept and welcome new team members. If taken to the extreme it becomes a problem for the team to grow and evolve, or may reduce the possibilities for the team to efficiently cooperate with others. Forming your own identity should be based on all the amazing things you want to achieve and values you share, not on contempt for others.

Continuing my Life of Brian theme, enjoy this parody on the topic: