The ‘we’ of the department: conjuring up team spirits

In the following, I describe how one can work with team spirit as a head of department. My account is based on concrete examples from my own tenure as head of department in a Danish university. Team spirit involves a focus on how to nurture a sense of belonging among faculty and staff in a university department. Going through a number of dimensions of managerial practice, I identify some of the tools that can be mobilized to help people make sense of and connect to the department as a collective entity. I also discuss some of the dilemmas and paradoxes involves in engaging actively in the creation of team spirit.