Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization
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“Tribal Leadership gives amazingly insightful perspective on how people interact and succeed. I learned about myself and learned lessons I will carry with me and reflect on for the rest of my life.” —John W. Fanning, Founding Chairman and CEO napster Inc.“An unusually nuanced view of high-performance cultures.” —Inc.Within each corporation are anywhere from a few to hundreds of separate tribes. In Tribal Leadership, Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright demonstrate how these corporate tribes develop—and show you how to assess them and lead them to maximize productivity and growth. A business management book like no other, this look into company culture is an essential tool to help managers and business leaders take better control of their organizations by utilizing the unique characteristics of the tribes that exist within.Based on a ten-year study of twenty-four thousand people, this essential guide to organizational behavior offers a clear roadmap to a new way of leading and managing organizations:The Five Tribal Stages: Learn to identify the five stages of tribal development, from the despair of “life sucks” to the unified power of “we’re great,” and how to lead people from one stage to the next.High-Performance Cultures: Discover why the key to success is not a superstar CEO but a series of networked tribes, and how leaders who build the tribe are embraced and create unprecedented success.Leadership Framework: Move beyond individual achievement by leveraging triads—three- person relationships built on shared values—to stabilize your teams and foster innovation.Actionable Strategy: Unstick your teams and upgrade your company by using specific leverage points for each stage, transforming your organization and boosting productivity and growth. Read more
Publisher : Harper Business
Publication date : June 7, 2011
Edition : Reprint
Language : English
Print length : 303 pages
ISBN-10 : 0
ISBN-13 : 20
Item Weight : 8.3 ounces
Dimensions : 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Kindle
PROS: * Provides a researched system of classifying organizations and businesses as "tribes" that is easy to apply. * Has useful ideas for helping people "tribe up" and improve their relations and improve organizational relations. * Very readable and understandable. * Doesn't pull punches on some of the conclusions. CONS: * Some historical interpretations are arguable. SUMMARY: Buy this book and read it unless you have no interest in community, leadership, and business. In that case you're probably not even reading this blog. Leadership books. I've been getting tired of them ever since people started deciding "The Art of War" could by applied to businesses if you ignored all the war, killing, use of fire, and soforth in the book. Everyone talks about Leadership in business and in the world, but as I don't see any improvement out there as the amount of lame Leadership books increase, so I assume most of these texts aren't that useful. At the same time, I'm very interested of issues in Leadership since I don't see nearly enough of it. I see bean-counting management, rock-star style poseurs, and exploitative jerks with a narrative. I don't see enough leadership in business, politics, media, or more - real, rallying, directing, powerful leadership. Tribal Leadership is the kind of book I've been waiting for. It not only explores issue of leadership, mostly (but not entirely) dealing with business, but issues of culture, organization, and community. In many ways its a book of applied sociology that happens to focus mostly on business. Based on research covering a decade, the book lays out a very clear thesis: 1. Humans naturally form tribes. 2. These tribes can be classified into 5 types each with a unique attitude towards life, and become more functional as you move from Type 1 to Type 5. 3. It is possible to coach people and groups to "tribe up" the scale to become more cohesive, functional, and productive (and in some cases at least less pathological) The book is split between describing the theories, and describing how people and groups can advance from lower to higher Tribal levels. Each chapter leads naturally to the next, and handy checklists and bulletpoints help you keep track of important ideas. This clear focus and organization makes the book easy to read, refer to, and use. As for the theory itself? It's simple and intuitive Essentially there are five tribal types, each defined by an attitude of members: Level 1 - "Life Sucks" - pathological, gang-like, angry. Level 2 - "My Life Sucks" - a mix of learned helplessness, bitterness. Level 3 - "I'm Great" - Productive and dynamic but egocentric. Level 4 - "We're Great" - tribe-oriented, creative, productive, tight. Level 5 - "Life Is Great" - Big-picture, tribe-connecting. You can probably guess right now which level you and your friends and co-workers function at (hint: you're probably also wrong). The theory itself is extremely applicable in my experience, and the authors give extensive information to help you understand where you and your various organizations fit on the tribal scale. The clear boundaries of levels, straightforward explanations, and explanations of the classifications helps you use this theory and see the sheer lack of B.S. Just be prepared for a few ego-bruises because most people think they function higher than they do (and this book will puncture your illusions). The theory comes with tips, advice, and directions for raising tribal level of people and organization. These sections are straightforward with excellent detail, from things to try, to signs to look for to identify personal progress. Again there's a refreshing lack of B.S. here. So is the book flawless? No. There's a few moments of historical reference and metaphor that seem stretched or that I disagree with. There could be some better explanation of techniques at a few points. These are minor concerns. Here's what you need to know about this book- you should read it unless you have a reason not to, like a lack of money or being currently dead. How much did I like this book? I've given two copies as gifts and my Kindle edition is filled with notes, I've joined a group to discuss it, founded another, and am discussing applying it's philosophy with other people. Yeah, I was impressed. This is a must-read
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Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2011 by Steven Savage
Format: Hardcover
Every once in a while you encounter an idea that acts like a new pair of glasses - suddenly you can see the world with clarity you didn't have a moment before. The subject of today's book review holds that kind of concept. It is a refreshing and graceful addition to and departure from so much of what you find in the leadership section of your book purveyor. Tribal Leadership is one of these First, let's clarify what the authors' aren't talking about. When they use the word "tribe" or "tribal", they are not referring to "tribalism" - the brutal state of people killing one another on the basis of perceived differences in heritage or culture. Rather, they recast "tribe" as a verb with healthy overtones. Fish school. Birds flock. People tribe. The authors contend (after ten years of studying 24,000 people) that people naturally form groups and that effective leaders pays special attention to the relationship between the leader and the tribe. As with many insights, this might not seem transformational at first glance, but it really is a profound look at the way people organize themselves and how to be an effective leader. Tribal Leadership describes five levels of tribes through which people can progress. An interesting and extraordinarily helpful aspect of the authors' work is that you can assess the level of a tribe by what people say. Behaviors can be more difficult to examine; it is only a matter of listening well to hear what people say. The levels and an abbreviated look at what people in that level tend to say: Level 1 - "Life stinks." (Think about a very rough prison where life is nasty and potentially short.) Level 2 - "My life stinks." (The person begins to realize not all of life stinks.) Level 3 - "I'm great (others aren't)." Level 4 - "We're great." Level 5 - "Life is great." There are several profound insights in Tribal Leadership. One of them is that people almost always go through these stages in sequence. In other words, don't be frustrated and upset with people who are in stage two or three. Rather, recognize where they are and help coach them and the tribe to the next level. Stage 3 in particular, where many American business leaders find themselves, may not seem like a nice place to be. However, during the stage in life where you are building your expertise, it is natural. The good news is you don't have to stay there... Effective leaders serve their people. They know where they are and they are skillfully able to help them navigate to the next level. Great leaders build great tribes. The descriptions of tribes and how to identify yours are useful, but where Tribal Leadership really shines is in the "how to". At each level, the authors provide very practical advice on how a leader can make the step to the next level AND how they can help individuals and tribes make that transition. I'm intentionally not including any examples of this material - get the book! It's engaging, upbeat, and very helpful. While the research was significant, you won't struggle to wade through it - the research is contained in an appendix and the authors use effective story-telling, illustrations, and reflection questions to help you take the tribal leadership journey. I recommend this book for leaders at every level. If you're just beginning, you'll find a fabulous road map that will shorten your learning curve. If you're a veteran, you'll find confirmation of your experience along with practical help to more effective lead and serve your teams. Did I mention I really, really like this book? Happy Reading, David M. Dye, author of The Seven Things Your Team Needs to Hear You Say
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2012 by David M. Dye
Format: Paperback
This book is unique in the genre of business and management as it looks to describe how teams think and communicate. The nomenclature is similar to Collin’s “Level-5 Leader”, Maxwell’s “5 Levels of Leadership” and Clinton’s “The Making of a Leader”. However, Tribal Leadership focuses on language and relationships within teams. “Tribal Leadership is not about changing Ideas or gaining knowledge; it is about changing language and relationships.” (P.37) Logan, et al. develops their ideas by walking us through the five levels of teams and leadership and the common language that is found in each tribe (team). Furthermore, after thoroughly explaining each of the five levels of tribes and the team’s mantras we are taught how to move our teams from a “life sucks” worldview to a “life is great” perspective. The description of level 3 teams and tribal leaders at level 3 harmonizes with what we see in the majority of our government, corporations, and churches. The essence of level 3 tribal leaders are, “I am great, and you are not.” (P.77) Furthermore, in this stage leaders are often driven by their own ego and are crippled by their own insecurities. The real tragedy of these underdeveloped tribes is that they will not tap into the collective gifting and resources that healthy tribes will achieve as a result of teamwork and partnership. This book will create a hunger to grow beyond a stage 3 leader and transform your tribe to aspire to higher levels of teamwork, relationships, and tribes that realize “life is great!” I gave this book 4-STARS because it is too wordy and the authors could have communicated the same message just as effectively in 200 pages in lieu of the 300 pages that were used. I also recommend the TEDTalk by Dave Logan - [...] -Edwin
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Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2016 by Edwin Handley
Format: Hardcover
I read a lot of business books and a lot of books on leadership - most of them have at least a few good ideas in them, but this is the first leadership book I've read that's driven me to look at organizations and the art of leadership in a completely different way. Another reviewer mentioned that it was liking having someone giving you glasses and suddenly being able to see in a completely different way - I felt that way as well. Even better, this isn't a book that just shares some opinions or ideas, with over 10 years of research across 24,000 people it's pretty clear the authors did a lot of hard research to figure out Tribal Leadership. What is Tribal Leadership - in a nutshell it's a completely new framework for how to look at leadership and creating high performing organizations. It's not about strategy and it's all about the culture and the evolution of the organization. It turns out there are 5 distinct stages of organizational culture that all build on one another. Stage 1 - Life Sucks...equivalent of a street gang mentality, not really a factor in most professional settings Stage 2 - My Life Sucks...Dilbert, the employees at Dunder Mifflin (The Office) or the employees at Initech Software (Office Space) are great, if a little over done examples of Stage 2 cultures. Stage 3 - I'm Great! (and you're not) - the lone warrior who is very competent and effective by themselves, but doesn't share well with others. Office politics, bad management practices and Stage 2 Cultures all come from Stage 3 managers. Stage 4 - We're Great - the language changes from I, Me to We and Us. It's all about the success of the team vs. individual accomplishments. The only way to really get to Stage 4 is to really 'own' stage 3. Stage 4 organizations will significantly out perform Stage 3 and lower organizations in terms of financial results and ability to get things done. Stage 5 - Life is Great...this stage occurs sporadically when Stage 4 organizations rise to a significant challenge and do something borderline miraculous (Think the 1980 Miracle on Ice US Hockey victory). In order to get an organization to Stage 4, the majority of people within an organization need to be at Stage 4...they need to have reached an epiphany in Stage 3 that doing everything yourself isn't productive in the long run - you've got to have a team that you can count on if you really want to make things happen. A couple of key ideas that are critical for Stage 4 include: Triadic relationships - basically the idea that a group of 3 people can form a very effective and stable relationship when they all 3 share the burden of making the relationship successful. Core Values - In order to reach a stage 4 culture, a group must have clearly stated alignment on core values...the types of values that make getting up in the morning important! Noble Cause - Finally, Stage 4 cultures revolve around ideas that are bigger than any 1 person...you must have a Noble Cause that everyone understands and gets behind. It's tough to summarize these really big ideas - but hopefully that gives you a taste. The book has a lot of interesting stories and examples and the authors do a nice job of stepping you through the ideas in a logical flow that makes a lot of sense. If you're looking for a set of ideas that will really shake up how you think and how you create a team that will do more...a lot more than you need to check out Tribal Leadership!
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Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2012 by Shawn Kinkade
Format: Hardcover
I really think a book like this deserves a moment of silence. It marks a leadership turning point by its own topic plus instructs those who wish to practice the necessary behaviors that will hone the wisdom of the lessons. Honestly, this book should be singled out away from the carnival midway of the madding crowd of business and self-help clamor. OK, you guessed it. I enjoyed the book. Tribal Leadership is the work of smart people. Dave Logan's voice shines through. He is brilliant, down to earth, and sensitive to his audience. He keeps to his own injunction--"don't be weird," even when he could get away with it, and he could. If ever there was a thinker who could easily wear the robes of iconoclast, eccentric, loveably strange, Dave has earned the right, but instead, he presents himself as 'normal'. I guess it's because he gets it, the true measure of well rounded intelligence. John King and Halee Fischer Wright continue the triad of authors to give Tribal Leadership a strong foundation, adding great insight, key points, and illustrative examples. I am always impressed with John's ability to communicate complex ideas, simply. As for Halee Fischer Wright, I know little about her but can assume volumes by the company she keeps. Review Quick lessons from TL- Once a developmental stage is identified there are specific ways to interact with that level to guide a predictable result. Developmental stages are infectious. The negative opportunistic lethargy that often hovers around Stage 2 can spread like wildfire if left unchecked. It takes mindful leadership to perceive the various levels and work with them to move toward a goal. A Stage 4 body of people (Jack Stack, Zappos,) working with mutuality can operate as a cult-like machine to accomplish more than stages 1, 2 or 3, whether in business or other focused challenges. Stage Three is familiar to us from typical achiever businesses. Most of us are quite familiar with bosses and politicians who think, "I'm great, (implying "and you're not".) Learning to navigate these people takes understanding and this book provides it. While I don't expect a sudden movement to be born from the book's thinking, I do applaud the groundwork that has been laid. Drawing from years of behind the scenes work and painstaking details, the three authors have distilled a volume that, I predict, will become a standard. This book makes a difference. It is a turning point in both business and personal wisdom. I suggest you read, study, and apply the insights of Tribal Leadership.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2011 by Kyle Whitford
Format: Paperback
To begin the authors define a tribe as "a group between 20 and 150 people. Here's the test for whether someone is in one of your tribes: if you saw her walking down the street, you'd stop and say "hello"". The continue: "Tribes in company get work done - sometimes a lot of work - but they don't form because of work. Tribes are the basic building block of any large human effort, including earning a living. As such their influence is greater than that of teams, entire companies, and even superstar CEOs. In companies, tribes decide whether the new leader is going to flourish or get taken out. They determine how much work gets done, and of what quality." The key question is then what makes the difference between tribes that excel and others that do not? The authors argue it is the presence of Tribal Leaders. The continue by defining what tribal leaders do: "Tribal Leaders focus their efforts on building the tribe - or more precisely, upgrading the tribal culture...Divisions and companies run by Tribal Leaders set the standard of performance in their industries, from productivity and profitability to employee retention. They are talent magnets, with people so eager to work for the leader that they will take a pay cut if necessary...Their efforts seem effortless, leaving may people puzzled by how they do it. Many Tribal Leaders, if asked can't articulate what they are doing that's different, but after reading this book, you will be able to explain and duplicate their success." The book's main focus after having defined the tribe and Tribal Leadership is to "give you perspective and tools of a Tribal Leader: someone who can unstick the conveyor belt - and make it run faster for whole groups of people, no matter which stage they're in. The result is more effective workplaces, greater strategic success, less stress, and more fun." This conveyor belt is an analogy for what the authors define as the tribal stages 1 through 5. Each stage is characterized by certain language and behavior. Stage 1: "The person at Stage One is alienated from others, expressing the view that "life sucks." Stage 2: "Stage Two people are surrounded by people who seem to have some power they lack. As a results, their language expresses "my life sucks." Stage 3: "The person at Stage Three is connected to others in a series of dyadic (two-person) relationships. the language of this stage expresses "I'm great," and in the background - unstated - is "and you're not." Stage 4: "The person forms structures called triads, in which they build values-based relationships between others. At the same time, the words of Stage Four people are centered on "we're great" and, in the background, "and they're not." The "they" is another tribe - in the same company or in another. Stage 5: "A person at Stage Five expresses "life is great." Five shares the same characteristics of Four, except that there is no "they." As a result, these people form ever-growing networks with anyone whose values resonate with their own. The only Stage Five cultures we have observed (in corporate settings) exists as long as a history-making project lasts or as long as the tribe is so far ahead of its competitors that they are irrelevant." Simply put the role of Tribal Leaders is "do two things: (1) listen for which cultures exist in their tribes and (2) upgrade those tribes using specific leverage points." A very interesting, educative and fun read. It helps one look at companies through a new viewpoint with a specific focus on the culture and relationships/dynamics within it. It is filled with practical real-life examples and applications and backed by substantial empirical research. Highly recommended! Below are excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful: 1- "People at Stage Three approach leadership as though it were a set of tasks they could check off their to-do list (e.g., "set the vision," "get alignment," and "listen with intention"). The moment leadership becomes cookie-cutter, it isn't leadership at all - it's management. By making the person aware that he's behaving in a Stage Three fashion toward leadership, you might help him see that he isn't a leader at all. This realization may propel him into the set of epiphanies of the next chapter." 2- "...The two most important aspects of owning Stage Four: identifying and leveraging core values, and aligning on a noble cause. Everything else the tribe does should be sandwiched between these constructs. Projects, activities, initiatives, processes - unless they are fueled by values and reach toward the tribal vision - should either be rethought until they are consistent with these guiding principles, or pruned. By definition, core values and a noble cause can never be "checked off," in the same way that companies complete an upgrade to computer technology." 3- "...Values must be core, and that means universal...Second, the unity resulting from core cause and a noble cause must be alignment, not agreement...Alignment, to us, means bringing pieces into the same line - the same direction." 4- "The Tribal Leadership Strategy Map: Start with core values and noble cause in the center, then move to outcomes and go counterclockwise around the model (assets and behaviors). Test Questions: Assets sufficient for the Outcomes? Enough assets for behaviors? Will behaviors accomplish outcomes?" 5- "An outcome, by contrast (to a goal), is a present state of success that morphs into an even bigger victory over time." 6- "A stage five tribe can work with any group that has a commitment to values that are core and that apply to everyone, even if those values are different from its own." 7- "While Tribal Leaders do their work for the good of the group, not for themselves, they are rewarded with loyalty, hard work, innovation, and collaboration. The tribe gets work of higher quality done in less time. The person is often seen as a candidate for op organizational jobs or for positions in government."
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Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2011 by O. Halabieh
Format: Paperback
I think there are some good concepts to consider in this book. That said, some of it felt like it is pervasive common knowledge enough to not warrant a book. Ultimately, I felt turned off by the fact that the book was a white male paradigm that didn't meaningfully integrate diverse perspectives. If I could do this purchase over, I'd pass and do more research before buying a book on leadership.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2025 by jessjensen
Format: Paperback
Great book with easy to understand explanations and examples that ring so true I wish I would’ve read this years ago. It goes beyond explaining in/out group dynamics and cultural norms/differences in organizations and talks about the language that these groups use. Then it provides real Strategies and Tools you can use. As a senior leader in an organization that was an extremely poor fit for me, I would’ve benefited from reading this early on in my tenure. If you are starting a new position or have started with a new organization or company, and you are interested in improving your leadership and understanding of people you supervise and serve, I highly recommend this!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024 by A.J.