Workgroup socialization is an area of study that has been largely ignored despite its implied importance in the field of organizational communication. This paper reviews the fundamental communicative elements found in organizational and workgroup socialization thus far, and puts forth hypotheses meant to examine the message properties of Pygmalion and normative expectancy effects across high performing teams. Participant responses were collected at a Northeastern financial organization. None of the relationships were found to be statistically significant, as was expected given the small sample size used in the analysis (n = 11). Preliminary findings, however, suggest that high performing teams place emphasis on holding high standards of others as well as holding them accountable for their actions. Findings also indicate that high performing teams seem to refrain from criticizing, ostracizing, and inundating their newcomers with work considered to be too difficult. The discussion is used to summarize the results, contemplate various theoretical implications, consider the limitations and strengths of this study, and provide avenues for future research.
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