What makes a group a clique?

<p>Of course, any conversation about cliques has to have a reference to the movie Mean Girls and that is how this conversation started. But, as we explained further into the conversation, cliques aren’t just about women/girls.  Cliques are a human condition.</p> <p> </p> <p>Elissa Hecker started us off by saying that cliques is a derogatory term and that they are exclusionary. Some people are not allowed in.</p> <p> </p> <p>Bruce Wayne added that they are divisive and deleterious to teamwork.</p> <p> </p> <p>Judy Musa talked about how thinking about cliques took her right back to middle school where she felt left out and not included. She also shared how she has tried to teach her children to let people who are different from them into their groups.</p> <p> </p> <p>I shared some of my work about how men/boys are more likely to get into a fist fight and women/girls are taught to use relational aggression.</p> <p> </p> <p>There is a funny story about that: When I was in grade school I heard my dad say “Boys are so much easier. They will just get into a fist fight and get it over with. Girls will hold a grudge for 20 years.”</p> <p> </p> <p>I took that to mean I should solve problems with my fists and got sent to the principle’s office for hitting a boy named Danny who was mean to me.</p> <p> </p> <p>I’m not sure we did a great job of answering the question. What do you think makes a group a clique?</p> <p> </p> <p>Connect with the panelists: Judy Musa: Musa <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/judy-musanj/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/judy-musanj/</a></p> <p>Founder and managing partner at MoJJo Collaborative Communications where she does Strategic Communications and is a Content Creator and Social Connector</p> <p> </p> <p>Bruce Wayne Meleski, PhD: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-wayne-meleski-phd-8b18118/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-wayne-meleski-phd-8b18118/</a></p> <p>Doing leading edge work into the neuroscience of anxiety because modern life has dysregulated our nervous system and he helps r