Creating a tribe
Why is creating a tribe so important? Well there is nothing that functions at a higher level than a tribe. When you are outside a tribe, you are scarcity minded, fearful, skittish, worried, etc.. Tribes gives us a sense of belonging, purpose, protection and direction. So the question is how do I create a tribe? A tribe consists of 4 components. As you look at each of these components, see which ones you need to create.
- Deep Intimacy
To create deep intimacy, you actually have to give a damn about each other. You have to genuinely care about the other people in the tribe. - Strong generosity
Where you are working in service of each other not just in service of your boss. Your goal is constantly how can I better serve the people in my tribe. How can I make them better.
- High degrees of candor
Tell each other the truth because anything short of that is stealing. If we are not telling the truth we are holding the other person back. We are preventing someone the information they need to grow and prosper. - Accountability that is peer-to-peer oriented
Do away with the whole notion that the organization hierarchical structure is the most import. You want to have a tribe that holds each other accountable, not just the leads and managers holding the people they are over accountable.
The bottom line is that a real tribe does not under any circumstances let each other fail. They make sure everyone is successful. As a leader of the tribe, you should be spending 30% of your time making helping your tribal members improve, not in meeting after meeting. Staff meeting should not be about status but about innovation, ideas, improvements and pushing the ball forward. You should know each persons strengths and weakness and be vulnerable enough that they know yours. You need to earn the right to have people want to change and improve because they trust you and know you have their back at all times.