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TRIBESby Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright

“… the empowerment of a community for a noble cause with the mutual respect for core values.”

-- Nasar Aboubakare People naturally form tribes

Tribes are the basic building block of any large human effort 20 – 150 people smaller groups are teams Tribes always have more power than the leader

What makes some tribes more successful than others is its culture

Tribes emerge from the language people use to describe themselves, their jobs and others

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

TRIBAL LEADERSHIPby Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright

There are five sequential stages that people (and tribes) can move in and out of

Each stage has a unique set of leverage points that will help move the individual/tribe forward

Tribal Leaders upgrade the tribal culture (by focusing on the language and behavior of the tribe) as the tribe embraces the leader

Change the language of the tribe, and you have changed the tribe itself

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Stages 1: On the Verge of a Breakdown

Summary “Life sucks” Alienated from each other and the, and the relationships

are undermining; focus on survival (e.g. gangs) 2% of organizations (e.g. gangs, DMVs, etc.)

Leverage Points Encourage the individual to see that other’s lives don’t

“suck” Involve them in meetings, events where higher stage

language is occurring Encourage them to cut ties with those who exhibit “life

sucks” language

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Stage 2: Disconnected & Disengaged

Summary “My life sucks” Members are separate from each other, feel

powerless and oppressed and the relationships are ineffective; focus on victimization

25% of organizationsLeverage Points

Encourage the individual to establish dyad relationships, esp. with those exhibiting Stage 3 language

Show them how their work does have an impact Assign project that allow for quick successes

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Stage 3: The Wild, Wild West

(48% of workplace cultures)

This is the zone of personal accomplishment. “I’m great (and by definition you’re not)”

Common for this stage to be present in knowledge based organizations – medicine, law, & education

Primary characteristic of stage 3: Formation of dyadic (two person) relationships

People with many dyadic relationships report feeling mentally fatigued because it takes a lot of time to maintain each relationship.

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Early Stage 3Early Stage 3 individuals:

Typically occurs when he finds his groove, acquires confidence, and is recognized for his giftsTend to feel let down by others (clue: lots

of sentences beginning with “I”)Marked by insecurity which fuels their

drive to perform

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Middle Stage 3Middle Stage 3:

Make friends whom they believe are at their level

Show of respect to others with the same gift; but still try to “one-up” each other

**coaching tip: point out that gifts are different – diversity of personality & skill set is important to the team’s success.

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Late Stage 3

Often comes as people hit age 40 or experience personal loss; manifest by a desire to give back

**coaching tip: if a person is stuck at Stage 3, find what’s holding her there.

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Stage 3 FingerprintsFormation of dyadic relationshipsKnowledge is power so the way to remain on top is

to know more – there is a tendency to hoard info because it is equivalent to power in this stage

Under the guise of keeping everyone informed, Stage 3 people keep their “spokes “ from forming relationships with one another

As a result of feeling insecure, people at this stage may rely on gossip for political information

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Stage 3 Fingerprints (con’t)

Especially if you’re male and working in a macho culture, you may talk using military or mafia language

Hungry for tips, tools, and techniques that will increase efficiency; Intense focus on time management because they can rely only on themselves

Talking about values – “my values”, or “the principles I hold dear” but these values are not empowering to anyone but you – really doing your own thing, not for the team.

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

The Tribal Leadership Epiphany

An awakening: But wait, there’s more!“What am I really trying to accomplish?” ….a

feeling of the need to live values (not just talk about them).

Requires a “leap of faith”Behavior shift from “I” and dyadic

relationships to “we” and networked systems of people.

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Signs of the EpiphanyNoticing that people haven’t achieved what they

thought, that victories they thought were tribal are only personal

People eventually see that winning on a personal basis is self defeating – tribal successes are enduring and satisfying for everyone

Realizing that power is a zero-sum game – the more you take from others, the more you have and the less others have

The only real goal is the betterment of the tribe

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

The Transition to Stage 4

“I am because we are”Rewards of the transition are esteem, respect,

loyalty, legacy, and enduring success

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Stage 4Tribal life after the

epiphany (22% of workplace cultures)

Stage 4 is the point where an organization has learned to use it’s tribal structure to promote its business objectives

Members believe they are more effective as a team than they are as individuals

The organization has articulated a powerful sense of purpose (a noble cause) that all of the employees have internalized (the tribe knows what it stands for)

The organization has articulated a list of core values that all members believe in and use as the ultimate arbitrator of business decisions (If a business decision conflicts with the values, the values win)

Management and staff use the triad as the favored form of interaction Morale is high and the organization is dynamic. It is constantly moving in the

direction of its noble cause The united tribe competes with an outside adversary rather than with each

other

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Finding the Noble Cause Members of a stage 4 company believe they are doing

important work in the world. You must articulate your noble cause to effectively function at this level

The noble cause is a benefit to the larger community that transcends the company’s economic success

One technique for finding the noble cause is to use a variation of the five questions mental modelAsk the question “in service to what?” about your tribe’s

workLook at your answer and repeat the same question (“in

service to what?”) several time until you reach the bedrock benefit of your mission

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

What the stage 4 company looks like

Members describe their work in terms of the tribe’s values and the important work (noble cause) they are doing

Ownership of ideas is replaced by a willingness to take ideas from any source (Your only as smart and capable as your tribe)

Individual effort gets support from the entire group (members are not left to succeed or fail on their own)

Give credit, keep blame Employees actively network with each other A preference for holding meetings of at least 3 people

(triads)“It makes my life more fun and it’s effective.”

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

The TriadThe Communications Tool of Stage 4

A conversation or workgroup made up of three people or groups

The function of the triad is to build networks of people Each member actively works to build the relationship

between the other two members The manager gives up personal control in favor of

empowering the talents and energy of the organization Triads allow for endless scalability

“We have yet to see problems that couldn’t be fixed by a few good triads.”

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

The triad “liberates” the manager

The genius of the triad is that it takes an effective networking tool and repurposes it as a management tool. Every business person understands the benefits of connecting two other people to help them reach their goals. You not only deepen the connection you have with them, but you are vicariously building the vibrancy of your professional network. When a manager uses the triad method as a communications tool, he or she benefits in three ways:

The connection between the manager and employees is strengthened

Dependent subordinates are empowered to become independent problem-solving teams

The manager saves time and effort by not having to be the center of every problem-solving initiative

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Triad members are both highly connected and empowered to act

The idea is that the triad becomes more effective as a problem-solving engine. The members are both highly connected and empowered to act

The book uses the example of an employee who comes to his boss about a disagreement with another employee. Rather than speak to them separately, the boss reminds the employee that he and the other employee are trying to achieve the same goal (tribal values) and they just need to come to an agreement on how to reach it. The boss trusts the other two members of this informal triad to do the heavy lifting of reaching a solution rather than orchestrating a solution himself

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Tribal Guide to StrategyComponents of Tribal Strategy:

Values and Noble Cause: point to the tangible benefits of shared values and noble cause is by the tribal leader engage the tribe for what the tribe stands for (values) and what it lives for (noble cause)

Outcomes: “what we want”, outcome is a present state of success that morphs into bigger victory over time.

Assets: “what we have”, “core assents” – what do we have“common grounds” – how we are seen

Behaviors: “what should we do to achieve the outcomes?”

Once you have strategy focus only on “Behaviors”, Restrategize every 90 days.

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Stage 5 (2% of workplace cultures)

Ask “What will propel us to the next level?” Tribe language is “Life is great", there is no “they” Tribe exists as long as a history-making activities lasts or the

competition is irrelevant Members spend their time based on core values and noble

cause The values are “global” or “resonant” Gallup – “are we helping six billion people or just the best

corporations in the world?” -> World Poll “a clear road map for the new reality of managing organizations,

careers, and life” - LinkedIn co-founder.

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Goal of Tribal LeadershipUpgrade groups/cluster of people from stage to stageWhile tribal leaders do their work for the good of the group,

they are rewarded with loyalty, hard work, innovation, and collaboration.

Tribal Elder: Bill Gates U2’s Bono Nelson Mandela

Contribute to global – not just tribal – causes.

It is possible!

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

ResourcesCheck www.triballeadership.net for more resources(free audio book download after registration)

On TED:http://www.ted.com/talks/david_logan_on_tribal_leadership.html

On YouTube (from fellow students in India):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM0Y1UcOV_c

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP