Connect: The C in ACE
by Dr. Troy H. Campbell
The ACE model is based on the idea that all great teams take the time to acknowledge, connect, and explore together.
The Forms of Connect
People have a fundamental need to connect, belong, and feel part of a shared reality. On teams they can connect in different forms with others by sharing commonalities, sharing personal stories, and sharing collective experiences.
Share Commonalities
Connect by finding commonalities—from current experiences to lifelong interests.
On a basic level, the fastest way to connection is by sharing commonalities.
On a deeper level, even people who’ve known each other a long time often don’t realize how much they have in common, be it a past experience, a current hobby, or a lifelong passion.
Share Stories
Connect by having people share something about themselves and get to know one another better.
On a basic level, this is just hearing something about the person (their hobbies, experiences, skills); it’s not about trying to find commonality, but simply finding out more about them.
On a deeper level, by sharing stories you are learning about one another and developing a deeper connection. Everyone has a collection of stories to tell that even their closest friends may not have heard.
Share Experiences
Connect by having shared fun and meaningful experiences.
On a basic level, this just means doing something together.
On a deeper level, it means doing things that may be intentionally carefree, norm breaking, or deeply related to personal and collective identities, as not all shared experiences are created equal.
The Science of Connect
The Need to Belong
Research on happiness and human motivation reveal they are tied to an ability to make human connections. Mark Leary and colleagues call it “the need to belong” in the sociometer theory, Richard Ryan and Edward Deci call it “relatedness” in their famous model of intrinsic human motivations, and Martin Seligman calls it “relationships” in his famous PERMA well-being model.
Shared Reality
Social psychology researcher Torry Higgins and colleagues report on the “a fundamental need to experience a shared reality with others.” As the authors define it, a “shared reality involves the experience of a successful connection to other people's inner states.”
Affinities
People largely come to like people with whom they share commonalities, or, as psychologists call them, “affinities.” Lots of work has examined the negatives of affinities bias, but fewer studies have looked at how almost any two people can find shared affinities and connect together in at least a small but likely powerful way.
