We all remember that iconic moment in Legally Blonde where Elle Woods captivates the salon with her “bend and snap.” It’s fun, unexpected, and surprisingly effective – a little like the advice you never knew you needed until you see it in action.

A recent episode of Trevor Noah’s podcast What Now? featured demographer Robert Putnam discussing two equally surprising yet powerful concepts that can transform how we work: bonding and bridging. Far from being mere political jargon, these ideas apply to any organisation, from a sprawling multinational to a nimble local startup. Think of bonding and bridging as your next “bend and snap”: simple moves with big payoffs. 

Bonding is all about building a strong foundation within your closest circle.

This includes colleagues, team members, or partners that you deal with every day. If you imagine a bustling restaurant, bonding is what happens behind the scenes in the kitchen. Each chef has their own station and expertise, whether that’s preparing sauces, grilling steaks, or plating desserts. Yet they’re united by a sense of trust. They know the head chef won’t suddenly change the entire menu mid-service, and they believe their fellow cooks won’t let the soufflé burn while they focus on the risotto.

When that bond exists, the environment feels almost choreographed. Tasks flow smoothly, challenges get tackled as a team, and there’s an underlying understanding that everyone is working toward the same goal – a satisfied customer.  

In a corporate office, bonding could be the regular check-ins where teams openly discuss issues. You might discover it in the unspoken norms of helping a colleague with a tight deadline, simply because you know they would do the same for you. This sense of connection doesn’t just keep the kitchen (or the project) from descending into chaos.

Bonding fosters loyalty, transparency, and a shared excitement that propels the whole group forward.

Bridging, on the other hand, extends beyond that tight-knit group to include all the stakeholders, advisors, and other departments who can enhance and shape your work. If bonding is the kitchen staff running like a well-oiled machine, bridging is making sure the front-of-house team, the marketing department, or even potential investors understand how that new dish (or new product feature) fits into the bigger picture.

You can have the world’s most exquisite tiramisu recipe, but if your waitstaff doesn’t know how to describe it – or if the owner isn’t willing to invest in quality ingredients – its success remains limited.  

Bridging ensures that everyone who has a stake, direct or indirect, feels informed and involved.

In a small business, this might be a local bakery making relationships with nearby coffee shops or community groups to spread the word about a new pastry. In a large company, bridging might look like cross-regional collaboration, where teams from different time zones share best practices, data, or market insights.  

By bridging, you effectively invite a broader range of perspectives and resources into your project, preventing the dreaded silo mentality that can undermine even the most innovative ideas. 

The reason these concepts matter isn’t just theoretical. Without bonding, a core team can struggle to manage the day-to-day demands of a project, often descending into blame games or endless confusion. Without bridging, you risk bringing a product or initiative to market without the necessary support – be it funding, customer buy-in, or operational alignment.

Consider a new tech product: maybe the engineers spend months perfecting its functionality, yet the marketing team remains clueless about its unique selling points until the last minute. That kind of disconnect can doom an otherwise brilliant invention. Likewise, an event might have a stellar planning committee, but if they never reach out to media partners or sponsors in time, attendance and publicity could fall flat. Bonding and bridging, taken together, prevent these pitfalls by keeping everyone aligned internally and ensuring that relevant external voices are woven into the process. 

Larger organisations, in particular, have a lot to gain by balancing bonding and bridging. A big company with multiple departments or offices across continents can’t rely solely on top-down directives. It needs strong teams on the ground who trust each other and who also recognise the value of reaching out.

That might mean coordinating with an IT division halfway around the world to ensure data security measures meet local regulations, or collaborating with a satellite office to tap into a lucrative but unfamiliar regional market. By maintaining strong internal bonds, each local team stays resilient and cohesive, while bridging across departments and international lines helps the enterprise see itself as one organisation rather than a patchwork of disconnected segments. 

Small businesses, on the other hand, often excel at bonding because they have a natural sense of camaraderie: everyone is close enough – sometimes literally, in the same co-working space or tiny storefront – to share daily victories and struggles. Yet bridging is equally critical for them, particularly when resources and expertise are limited.

By actively seeking advice, partnerships, or even mentorship from outside their immediate circle, smaller companies can find growth opportunities and solutions they wouldn’t have discovered alone. A family-owned restaurant might partner with a local brewery to host themed nights, while a fledgling tech startup might seek input from industry veterans to refine its pitch deck. These collaborations expand a small business’s reach and break down barriers that often hamper growth. 

Ultimately, the payoff of bonding and bridging extends well beyond a single project or product cycle. When people talk about an organisation that “doesn’t have silos,” they’re really talking about a place where bonding is strong at every level and bridging is part of the culture. That reputation translates into better staff retention, stronger client relationships, and a track record of successful initiatives.

It also means that when challenges inevitably arise—whether it’s a crisis in the supply chain or a sudden shift in consumer tastes – you’ll have a strong core team ready to adapt, as well as a network of trusted partners to help you navigate the turbulence. 

Like Elle Woods’s “bend and snap,” bonding and bridging might look simple on the surface, but their effectiveness lies in consistent practice and genuine intent. By reinforcing your immediate circle while also reaching out to the broader community, you create an environment where innovation thrives, people feel valued, and ideas don’t fall through the cracks.  

The next time you kick off a project or brainstorm a new product, take a moment to think about who’s in your kitchen – and who else might need a seat at the table. When everyone’s aligned, informed, and excited, you’ll discover that success feels as effortless as a perfectly timed “bend and snap.”