Isn't a strong social identity, something desirable? Doesn't it result in stability and strength? Don't we all seek the belonging sentiment which necessarily implies an Us vs. Them?
On the other hand, it seems that tribal thinking can increase social tension and divisiveness, and makes people more "stupid"/less critical towards their group.
So what is the right balance here?
Having said that, there are religions and ideologies that tend to become a big part of a person's identity. Then their actions become guided by those ideologies.
I am not sure that is always the case. I would think that, for example, the women involved in the Charles Manson murders had a diminished sense of I, but they were not compassionate and caring.
Joining a cult is not the same as diminishing the ego. You don't just supplant your ego with someone else's.
Anyone who loses themselves in a cult of personality is not following the teachings of the Buddhism.
The whitepapers and salespeople going on and on about their products, services and companies that nobody cares about?
Yeah, that one! The ideologies and demagogues are even "worse". Not that ego is a bad thing, just in isolation..
Even if you point to things like Conway's law they still won't listen sometimes!
The best organizations have compassion for their employees and customers, but it takes right-thinking from the top.
Laughing at the manson family reference from the other comment, that's an example of hostile brainwashing by a cult leader, whereas what is being described here is an exploration of self and the true nature of consciousness, which is compassion.
Shamatha is calm abiding mind, single-pointed meditation, temporary emotional stability.
Vipassana is analytical meditation, wisdom, lasting mental stability through deconstructing the self and other phenomena to repeatedly discover that all is empty at the ultimate level.
Going through this you can then approach the conventional world with more mental stability than just reacting naively to every event and occurrence.
In a family, closer connections are part of living together. We see the same proximity effects in people working in teams.
When there is a need for improved collaborations between people, teams and organizations, the environment need to kindle and support such initiatives. This is called leadership.
For some individuals and roles, it is more natural to make connections across "the chasms", but this is dependent on individuality, position and opportunity. Thus in professional organizations, you want enabling this to be part of leadership and training of an organic organization.
Everyone can't connect to everyone all the time, so there needs to be some design and maintenance of such designs. Though personal connections remains an individual experience and skill, the environment must cease to sabotage initiatives, become more mature and professional.