Turfism. It's one of those annoying things that end up creating big problems in the workplace. Conceptually, people know that it's bad and damaging, yet for whatever reason, there are those who can't seem to help themselves. They feel the need to guard their territory and protect (sometimes with a vengeance) what they perceive to be theirs. But in organizations, there is no such thing as the "master of a domain." Or at least there shouldn't be. In the context of a business, no one has an inherent or definitive right to anything. Despite that, people act as if they do and as a result, invisible walls go up which ultimately hinder communication and infect the culture with a lack of cooperation among people and departments.

Granted, it's one thing to have safeguards in place that are intended to insulate a business against threats and minimize its vulnerabilities. Clearly, it would be unwise not to shore up whatever measures are necessary to prevent damage and reduce risk. But it's another thing altogether to work with individuals who have confused the need to ensure the security of a business with their own personal need to "draw a line in the sand." They tend to forget that within one organization there should be one goal and that the people working toward that goal are supposed to be on the same side. So when turf-inclined individuals lose sight of the collective and generate their own divisions instead, they essentially become the very hazard against which organizations need to protect themselves. It's so obvious that it seems silly to even state that threats to a business should not be coming from within. But it happens all the time. Creating adversaries inside an organization is not prudent; it's paranoid. And, it makes no sense.