There have been a number of recently published books that tout a more "natural" approach to understanding human dynamics at the workplace.
Below are two that I have researched, and want to bring into the discussion of an epigenetic approach t understanding organizations. I am NOT criticizing the content of these, there is a place for this information in the developmental model I am developing.
Tribal Leadership
In this business oriented book, the authors posit that people participate in organizations as members of one or more tribes. (A tribe is defined as a basic sociological unit: a group of 20-150 humans). The authors claim to use linguistic research methods and relationship structures to outline five "tribal" stages that build on one another. Each state is more productive and meaningful for its members than the ones it supersedes. Each also has leverage points that move the group forward in productivity. Organizations are often composed of numerous tribes.
The five tribal stages are:
Stage 1: Tribal members exist in a state of alienation from goals beyond mere survival. They use language to describe their place in the world that asserts that life in general is unfair. In short, "Life Sucks!"
Stage 2: Tribal members exist in a state of victimization. They use language that describes their place in the world that suggest that they are powerless and oppressed by forces outside their control. In short, "My life sucks."
Stage 3: Tribal members exist in a state of self-aggrandizing competition. They use language that describes their place in the world as great by virtue of the fact that they have won positions of status and power. In short, "I am great, because you are not!"
Stage 4: Tribal members exist in a state of mutual cooperation around a common goal, characterized by competing against other organizations. They use language that describes their place in the world as meaningful because they are achieving outcomes valued by the tribe by cooperating with other members of the tribe. In short, "We are great (because they are not)!"
Stage 5: Tribal members exist in a state of flow. They use language that describes their place in the world as intrinsically meaningful and focused on the good of the universe. In short, "Life is Great!"
Each stage has characteristics that describes the quality and the core values of the relationships between tribe members.
Stage 1: Members are alienated from each other; relationships are undermining.
Stage 2: Members are separate from each other; relationships are ineffective
Stage 3: Typically - personal domination of one member over others; relationships are developed for their usefulness
Stage 4: Stable partnerships are attained, as relationships are deemed important. A tribe member is successful only if all members are successful.
Stage 5: Team of stable partnerships exists, and relationships are vital.
Tribes advance one stage at a time. Stages are not skipped. Without progressive intention at a particular stage, cultures may also degrade.
The job of a tribal leader is to continually elevate the culture. If a tribe has a strong leader who is stable in the next higher stage, a tribe may be catalyzed to advance as a whole.
Ray Immelman: Great boss Dead boss
The focus of this book is to point out the tribal nature of organizations. To that end, Immelman creates a set of tribal attributes and tribal dimensions that he uses to construct an understanding not only of how these groups operate but how an organizational consultant can look at organizations through this lens.
- Tribal attribute one; strong tribe must have a common enemy
- Tribal attribute two; a strong tribe has clearly defined symbols
- Tribal dimension one; individuals are socially, emotionally, and psychologically defined by their tribal membership
- Tribal attribute three; a strong tribe offers a super ordinate identity to all sub tribes
- Tribal dimension two; individuals act to reinforce their security when under threat, (individual security)
- Tribal dimension three; individuals act to reinforce their self worth when the security is not under threat (individual value)
- Tribal dimension four; tribes act to secure their self preservation if their security is under threat (tribal security)
- Tribal dimension five; tribes act to reinforce their self worth when their security is not under threat (tribal value)
- Creates a grid with individual security on the right hand taxes and tribal security plus or minus along the top
- Tribal attribute four; a strong tribe has a credible, just cause for its continued existence
- Tribal attribute five; a strong tribe has an accepted right of passage
- Tribal attributes six; a strong tribe has clear external measures of success
- Tribal attributes seven; a strong tribe understands and protects its source of power
- Tribal attribute eight; a strong tribe knows how it compares to the “untouchables”
- Tribal attribute nine; the criteria for tribal membership are clear and credible
(Immelman, 2003)
Immmelman, as have several other recent business/organizational authors, presents these dimensions and attributes in a narrative style: telling the story of a business problem that uses these to make sense of the issues and how to solve them. He develops a type of shorthand for each of the attributes and dimensions and then shows the reader how to combine them to implement his approach.
Interestingly, even though the authors in both cases identify some valid attributes of “tribes” and “tribal leaders”, few of the sources in the bibliographies are from the field of cultural anthropology. They are all business/management books. Tribal Leadership does a better job of connecting their ideas to anthropological studies than Immelman.
Neither book recognizes the epigenetic processes that tribes must respond to in their overall environment. Relationships within the “tribe”, and with other “tribes”, are identified as critical aspects of understanding behavior and leadership, however, they are the beginning of scratching the surface of the potential of understanding and utilizing this point of view.
Immelman, R. (2003). Great boss, Dead boss; Stewart Phillips international LLC:
Logan, King & Fischer- Wright (2008)Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization, Harper Collins
