Status hierarchies develop in teams. The more respect, prestige, influence, and power a group member has, the higher the status within the group. Status is the perceived ranking of one member relative to other members in the group. It’s common to strive for high status within the group.

Status is based on several factors, including members’ performance, job title, wage or salary, seniority, knowledge or expertise, interpersonal skills, appearance, education, race, age, sex, and so on. A group is more willing to listen to a high-status member and to overlook such a member’s breaking of the norms. High-status members have a major impact on a group’s performance. In a command group, the boss is usually the member with the highest status. The leader’s ability to manage affects the group performance.

If high-status members support positive norms and high productivity, chances are the rest of the group will, too. To help break down management and employee status so that teams better share leadership. Another important factor influencing group performance is status congruence. To be effective, you need to have high status within a command group. Maintain good human relations with the group, particularly with the high-status informal leaders, to be sure that they endorse positive norms and objectives. But in reality, be sure to listen to and include low-status members in the group process.