Being in Relation: Achieving Mutuality in Moments of Play

Abstract

Human connection is an innate human need. More than that, it is a rich source of life satisfaction, the purest expression of our humanity, and only in moments of human connection do we fully come into being. Such moments of connection are acutely familiar and recognizable, and yet profoundly mysterious and inarticulable.

Increasingly, organizational scholars are recognizing the benefits associated with human connection. Jane Dutton and colleagues developed a conceptualization of moments of human connection, termed high quality connections (HQCs), which are characterized by the experience of positive regard, vitality, and mutuality. As research increasingly demonstrates the value of HQCs at work, my aims are twofold: 1) understanding the conditions and practices that cultivate HQCs, and 2) gain a deeper understanding of the nature of human connection, examining and perhaps refining the HQC depiction of human connection.

To achieve this, I conducted two inductive, qualitative studies of a university lacrosse team and a set of six community theatre productions. I chose sports and theatre because in those contexts moments of human connection are prevalent, intense, and central to the purpose of the activity. I draw on ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews to observe and hear accounts of moments of human connection.

In Chapter 1, I start by describing the importance of human connection. I adopt the HQC conceptualization as a theoretical starting point, and review the literature on the value of HQCs at work. I then describe some of the challenges organizations face in cultivating HQCs, such as competitive dynamics and depersonalizing role structures. This theoretically and practically motivates my overarching research question: how do people achieve HQCs?

In Chapter 2, I present my study of the lacrosse team. In this study, I observe how competition among teammates is a source of HQCs on the team. I identify mutuality as the central mechanism by which moments of competition become HQCs, which fosters positive regard. I also present conditions that enable players to achieve mutuality in competition. From these findings, I develop a view of competition as a form of mutuality-inducing play. I draw on philosophy of sport to conceptualize competition as a cooperative relational process.

In Chapter 3, I present my study of six community theatre productions. Because study 1 revealed mutuality as the driving mechanism for HQC in competition, I turn my focus to how mutuality is achieved. I specifically examine the influence of roles, which have long been thought to inhibit human connection in organizations. I find instead that roles enable authenticity and responsiveness, which lead to mutuality. I also find, as in the lacrosse paper, that moments of play are when mutuality is achieved.

After two studies pointed me toward play, Chapter 4 examines more deeply the concept of play—what it is, why it is central to sports and theatre, and whether it can similarly be integrated with work. Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation by developing a theoretical model of mutuality that connects mutuality to several related concepts in other fields. My primary conclusions are that mutuality is the driving mechanism of moments of human connection (the other two aspects of HQC are outpourings from mutuality), and that play enables mutuality. Bringing the focus to mutuality provides a clearer understanding of the nature of these moments of connection, as well as how they can be cultivated.