It’s not a word we hear very often when referring to behavior within organizations. Yet it is instantly recognizable: cliques, unions, professional associations, special interest groups.
The idea of organizational tribes is neutral. Seth Godin in his 2008 book Tribes discussed the various kinds of tribes that form around topics of mutual interest among like-minded people. He argued the case for leadership opportunities tribes provide.
Tribes can also cause organizational harm and disruption by:
- Reducing communication
- Reducing cooperation
- Reducing teamwork – except within the tribe
- Creating a self-protective boundary
If you are a member of the tribe you have certain behaviors that are required of you to remain a member; you must conform. If you don’t, you’re ostracized. And what takes precedence – the good of the organization (i.e. customer, clients, patients, students) or the good of the tribe? It’s often the good of the tribe to the detriment of the organization’s constituency. We see this in health care, education, unionized workplaces.
Education is under scrutiny because of poor student scores and progress. Health care is under scrutiny because of poor quality. Some manufacturing plants are no longer competitive due to union negotiated wages and benefits.
Protectionism and isolationism that tribes help create is no longer a viable strategy: not in education, not in health care and not in business. And yes we do know the reason for their existence and why they were important in the pasts. Times have changed; we are working in and competing in an international marketplace.
Now the so what factor – why does it matter? It matters because to compete, to provide good education, to provide good health care, the organization must perform. It simply cannot perform if people and groups of people are working at cross-purposes.
It is naïve to think that cliques will disappear, unions will fade away or that professions will give up their identify. It will not happen. What can happen however, is what happened in the early 1600s among the Iroquois Indians – they formed a Federation: a cooperative to insure that each tribe not only survived but thrived. We have historical precedents. The question is – can we learn from it in the 21st Century?
Copyright 2010 Kubica and LaForest
If you enjoyed this piece, please consider sharing it!
