Sexual attraction refers to the physical, emotional, mental, and/or spiritual feelings of pleasure, desire, and admiration that arise when two or more individuals come into close contact with one another. It is an innate instinct in human beings that helps ensure the survival of the species through reproduction and procreation. Sexual attraction can manifest itself in various forms such as lust, infatuation, love, passion, adoration, attachment, bonding, and commitment. In this article, I will explore how sexual attraction affects strategic decision-making, collaboration, and cross-team alignment.
Factors Affecting Strategic Decision-Making
Strategic decision-making involves making critical choices that align with long-term goals while taking into account short-term objectives, resources available, risks involved, time constraints, competitive landscape, and stakeholder expectations. When sexual attraction comes into play, it can significantly influence strategic decisions by clouding judgment, distracting attention, skewing priorities, and introducing biases.
A manager may choose to hire someone for their looks rather than their skillset, leading to poor performance and reduced productivity in the workplace. Similarly, a team leader may favor a member based on their relationship status, which can lead to resentment and conflict among other members.
Impact on Collaboration
Collaboration refers to working together to achieve common objectives through sharing ideas, knowledge, skills, and expertise. Sexual attraction can disrupt collaboration by causing confusion, tension, jealousy, and competition between team members.
If two colleagues are romantically involved, they might become obsessed with each other's opinions or ignore others' contributions. This leads to suboptimal outcomes, reduced creativity, and decreased motivation.
Some individuals may feel uncomfortable working alongside someone they perceive as attractive, resulting in avoidance behavior or even hostility.
Cross-Team Alignment
Cross-team alignment refers to ensuring that all teams within an organization work towards a shared vision and mission, collaborating effectively and efficiently toward shared objectives. Sexual attraction can undermine this process by creating rivalries and silos between different groups.
If one team is dominated by men while another comprises mainly women, there could be gender-based conflicts that impact communication, cooperation, and resource allocation. This can also lead to sexual harassment allegations, legal battles, and reputational damage.
Sexual attraction has a significant effect on strategic decision-making, collaboration, and cross-team alignment in organizations. It can cloud judgment, skew priorities, create distrust, and reduce productivity. Managers must ensure that their employees' professional lives remain separate from their personal ones and implement policies that prevent such incidents.
In what ways does sexual attraction affect strategic decision-making, collaboration, and cross-team alignment?
Sexual attraction has been shown to have significant effects on strategic decision-making, collaboration, and cross-team alignment within organizations. Research suggests that individuals who experience sexual attraction towards one another are more likely to engage in self-serving behavior and prioritize their own interests over those of the team (Cashdan et al. , 2016).