What shifts people to the "dark side"? Or drop them down a Tribal Stage?

Interesting article by Dave Logan (Tribal Leadership) about why organizations and people move into horrible acts -- using Penn State and the shootings in Colorado as examples: Two faces of evil

It's easy to  slip from Tribal Stage 4 to Stage 3 to Stage 2 -- for individuals and organizations.  His premise is that it's because they don't focus again on core values.  Maybe -- if so, then how do you have tribes focus on core values on a regular basis without it just melting in the background.  In the Tribal Leadership book is a section about having regularly scheduled "oil changes."  I think that's something to focus or talk about during the oil changes -- especially if a tribe has enough trust among/within itself to look at core values critically and honestly.

Easy for individuals to slip from Stage 4 to Stage 3 as well -- the more stressed, overwhelmed one is, the easier it is to "just do it" and not worry about triads and communicating with each other. Or, being surrounded by people in various stages will carry over.

Something to watch for deliberately.  How often do we have oil change discussions -- among teams, boards, friends, families?  Can those discussions have core values as the framework to focus around?

Leadership -- by title vs choice?

Is leadership associated with a title or is it one that is a choice and irrespective of title?   Can great leadership be taught?

Think about some of the opportunities when you've been in a leadership position before.  You were promoted or volunteered -- or voluntold! to take a position with a title.  That leadership title often has a job description outlined and clear expectations. Those you often interact with in positions above and below you have a clear picture of what you're responsible for based on your title.  The title comes sometimes whether you're ready or not.  When you lose your title or give it up, that responsibility is done.  It passes on to someone else.

On the other hand, great leadership is a choice. It happens without a specific title. Those great leaders interact with see leadership in action and see the impact of what they do without having a specific title and job description laid out.

Every interaction, good or bad, is an opportunity to learn more about leadership. Though the concept and theory can be taught, the individual style is harder.  Like ballroom dancing, it's difficult to teach someone the finer points of how to lead, when to subtly give one's partner pressure to move one direction or another, when to give them space to move on their own.  But good dancers have watched, learned and found their own rhythm for how best to lead across a wide variety of dance partners.

Great leadership continues with or without a title. Watch the great leaders you're around. How do they do it?
http://www.learn.eaglesflight.com/blog/bid/133325/Is-Leadership-a-Choice

Leadership Traits in Today's World

A big component of the leadership model we're trying to promote / encourage / model for our students (and mentors) is not leadership by title and job description which is what so many student "leadership programs" do, but a less tangible role of leadership in which the individual title is less important than what is being achieved as a group.

This article by Justin Menkes: A New Definition of Leadership for a Newly Transformed World captures some key aspects of that model:

The heart of leadership is realizing potential — in yourself as a leader, and in the people you lead. In the traditional paradigm of leadership, leaders would have an impact on their people, who would in turn perform. Yet to be an effective leader today, achieving this unidirectional flow is no longer sufficient. Today’s business environment demands a new leadership paradigm: one centered on a fluid, virtuous cycle of exchange and growth between leaders and the people they lead....

So -- high hopes for this one based on the first few paragraphs.  However, now that I've read it, it's more of a reflection/observation of what characteristics make a good leader, not how you encourage those traits in others.  Extremely insightful at a personal level, but not necessarily helpful for others.


A few good observations at the end, though...

Real leadership is recursive: it’s a continuous process that starts with a leader and is echoed in that leader’s people. My research has shown that the best leaders work with the people they lead to seek their mutual maximum potential together: they co-create their success.
...
We are all born with an innate urge for triumph, but are not born aware of this need or how to meet it. It is up to a leader to create a work environment in which every employee can experience the deep satisfaction of triumphing in pursuit of a worthy goal.

The most critical responsibility leaders have is to help their people flip the switch of engagement toward realizing their potential as human beings. When leaders create a context for people to realize their potential, they create a virtuous cycle that elicits people’s best selves — the selves that induce the gratification we all feel when we overcome significant challenges and realize our potential.

Sounds like a lot of work, a lot of responsibility...  No wonder not many people try major leadership projects!

Tribal Leadership recommendation

This book is really what I want our non-profit and our teams and programs to be about.  It puts into words and in a framework a lot of what I buy into.  It is the reason why I guess I do a lot of the things I do without thinking about it or verbalizing it.  (I was telling someone one of the quotes from the book with a "Well, duh" comment -- and her comment is that my "well, duh" actions aren't "well, duh" by most people...).

So -- if you want to see where I'd like to head, here it is -- definitely worth at least watching the Ted Talk (linked on the website) but I think worth reading the entire book.  I'd like to recommend it for all our highschool students as well.  It explains some of the challenges some of the outside teams we're working with are facing, and explains some of the challenges of working with different mentors who buy into different aspects.  It's the reason I think we had the split with some of the our team members in April -- core values, different stages of what's important -- and was behind some of the big discussions with one of the families who left the organization.

Tribal Leadership:  Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization

And the website:

http://www.triballeadership.net/

Key ideas:

Organizations/teams/tribes are at different stages, depending on where the individuals are in their own mindset.  Individuals go through their own process and stages.  The only way a tribe moves up the stages is to have most of their people go through the stages as well -- and change the language of the tribe.  Language is huge (like the sarcasm we kept hearing on our team in April).

Stage 1:  Life sucks

• Mostly those without hope

Stage 2:  My life sucks 

• Where many school-aged students are, Dilbert cartoons, people at the DMV, those people who talk about what "corporate's doing" as the enemy
• Everyone else's life is better but my boss/parents/teachers/government make my life worse and we can bond through that message
• Little initiative, little urgency, reluctance to do things

Stage 3:  I'm great 

• Promoted and rewarded in school -- get individual A's, do better for yourself
• Over half of corporations in the world, most of the leadership/business books/training focus on this stage -- how to get ahead, how to make yourself better, how to create your own value and be better than other people doing the same thing
• Most universities -- people working to further their own scientific expertise
• This stage is important so people have been through that power and feel successful 

Stage 4:  We're great 

• Our team has the opportunity to be here -- not about individuals, but about working together for a bigger purpose -- language focuses on "we" instead of "I" -- benefit of shared information, shared communication, shared norming, shared core values 
• Fewer than 1/4 of the corporations/businesses
• Stage 4 people/leaders have to go through Stage 3 before getting to Stage 4 so they have to feel they have some value they bring to the group
• Instead of banding against "the boss" or someone with power, or competing against each other, it's having a common foe -- "being a better team than...?"

Stage 5:  Life's great

• This is not a stable stage -- but Stage 4 teams can go in and out of Stage 5.
• This is where history's made, where life changing occurs, where the greater good happens.
• This is what we achieved with the summer cross-team training (in my mind, anyway -- maybe not in the minds of most of our students)

Key aspects:

• The tribe's stage is based on where the individuals in the tribe are -- mostly Stage 4, then the team will be at Stage 4.  A few vocal ones at Stage 2, and the whole team could drop to a Stage 2... 
• Language used is critical -- and you can tell the stage of the team and individual by the language you hear
• Core values are critical -- alignment but not necessarily agreement.  If people are aligned on defined core values, they have a place to discuss agreement and disagreement with implementation based on those values.
• Building the tribe is more important than building the "what" -- if you build the tribe and the core values, the rest will follow

So -- if you read it, let me know... I'm just itching to talk it over with people who have read it.

Core Values and Teens

One of the goals for our highschool program is to walk them through all sorts of typically adult topics that happen in business, life, careers...  Creating and describing core values for their team is a huge one.  Most of the teen-focused core values I could find online were set by adults for teens -- these are the core values teens should have, these are the core values that our teen-focused program has, etc.

But understanding how important a group/tribe/team's core values is will be even more important in the future as companies involve more activities across teams, both in person and virtually.

Here are some posts about implementing Tribal Leadership ideas with teens:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Implementing-Tribal-Leadership-Teens-2355813.S.57487589

In our highschool team, we have some well-defined core values that were generated by the students in reaction to other students leaving the team.  It made the core stronger.  Now, the challenge is to collect those core values into something cohesive, repeatable (and reinforceable), and tranferable not only to new team members but to mentors as well.

We started out with a 4 minute writing exercise (mentors and students) -- they started by the core values they lived by (though they felt that was too personal to present first), then words to say what type of team/organization they would be proud to be part of -- and then what sets our team/organization apart from other teams.

Here's the list -- primarily teen-driven...

Next step:  Put all those core values on a board with post-its and play with combining them, moving them around for a few weeks to get it down to something that makes sense...

What words describe the type of a team would you be proud to be a part of?  

• Graciously professional

• Help other teams

• Coopertition

• Innovative

• Approachable

• Intelligent people

• Capable of showing respect

• Well oiled

• Everybody is growing

• Fun

• Supportive of each other

• Feeling of community

• Equal value, different experience

• Ready to try

• Team building

• Known about

What words set our team apart from other teams -- when you tell people who we are compared to other local teams, what makes us us?

• Community based

• No one is second class

• Group-led team

• More enjoyment of outreach

• Learning by doing – all of us

• Everybody is a leader (nudger)

• Everybody may do everything

What are 4 or 5 key core values YOU live by?

• Helping people learn

• Treat everyone the same

• Be helpful when you can

• Fun!! Work

• Never stop learning

• Learning by doing

• Honest

• Hopefully optimistic

• Risk taking

• Inviting help from everyone

• Raising the bar

• Fail once, fail better

Core values -- from various companies

Going through core values for some of the companies I'm familiar with due to friends working there.  Interesting differences and implications for what happens at each company...

My favorite?
I really like Google's -- can see why people are drawn to Google -- lots of great values and statements and ideas.  But I also really like Khan Academy's statement of who they are and the passion they hold.  Not sure Facebook does much for me -- and definitely shows why they often are changing policies, changing looks, etc.

• CISCO
• CREE
• IBM
• NCSU
• LORD Corporation
• GOOGLE
• FACEBOOK
• AMAZON
• KHAN ACADEMY

CISCO

Interestingly, I couldn't find CISCO core values anywhere...

CREE

Core Principles

The standards of conduct embodied in this Code are based upon the following core principles by which we operate our business:

• We act honestly and ethically in all of our Cree activities and relationships. 
• We seek to avoid all conflicts of interest between our work and personal interests. 
• We obey all laws, rules and regulations applicable to Cree's business worldwide. 
• We seek to foster a workplace in which all individuals are treated fairly. 
• We endeavor to maintain a safe workplace and to protect the environment. 
• We strive to recognize and value ethical conduct.

------------------------

IBM

IBMers determined that our actions will be driven by these values:

• Dedication to every client's success
• Innovation that matters, for our company and for the world
• Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships

------------------------

NCSU

Vision 
The University Sustainability Office efficiently advances NC State as an innovative, sustainable community. Our action-oriented team is sought after for our agility in initiating effective programs, providing interdisciplinary educational awareness, empowering shared responsibility and sense of community, resulting in real and balanced environmental, financial and social impact.

Values We Stand For:

• Commitment
• Excellence
• Achievement
• Accountability
• Accessibility
• Integrity
• Quality

------------------------

LORD Corporation

Creed

We believe in the worth and dignity of each individual and in the need to provide an environment which promotes individual and team development as demonstrated by continuous improvement, leading to external and internal customer satisfaction. We encourage and expect the participation of every employee to generate and develop ideas to achieve corporate values and goals in the pursuit of excellence. We will do our best to see that organizations, systems and resources are provided to enable decisions on these ideas as close as possible to their point of impact. We pledge that our business will be conducted with integrity and high ethical standards incorporating a sense of community and civic responsibility.

------------------------

Google's Core Values

• 1) We want to work with great people
  We hire great people and expect a lot from them
  We create an environment where people can flourish and grow
  We treat people with fairness and respect
  We challenge each other's ideas openly
  We value diversity in people and ideas
  We are a quantitative company that uses data to make decisions
• 2) Technology innovation is our lifeblood
  Build the world's best technology and products
  We apply technology and creativity to solve important problems
• 3) Working at Google is fun
  We expect our people to know and enjoy each other
  We have a challenging/energetic work environment
  We celebrate our successes and each other's accomplishments – both professional and personal
• 4) Be actively involved; you are Google
  Honor commitments
  We openly communicate and trust you with a great deal of information and we expect you to honor our confidentiality
  Understand when you are representing Google and act appropriately
• 5) Don't take success for granted
  Think and act like an underdog
  Be humble with success; don't be arrogant
  Be scrappy and resourceful
• 6) Do the right thing; don't be evil
  Honesty and integrity in all we do
  Our business practices are beyond reproach
  We make money by doing good things
• 7) Earn customer and user loyalty and respect every day
  Create, enhance and maintain great products and services
  Sustainable long-term growth and profitability are key to our success
  Think scale and efficiency
  Every dollar is yours
  Do things that matter
• 9) Google cares about and supports the communities where we work and live
  We encourage and enable our people to support local community involvement and expect them to participate

• 10) We aspire to improve and change the world
  Aim high; think BIG, take risks
  A healthy disregard for the impossible

------------------------

Facebook's 5 core values

1. Focus on Impact
If we want to have the biggest impact, the best way to do this is to make sure we always focus on solving the most important problems. It sounds simple, but we think most companies do this poorly and waste a lot of time. We expect everyone at Facebook to be good at finding the biggest problems to work on.

2. Move Fast
Moving fast enables us to build more things and learn faster. However, as most companies grow, they slow down too much because they're more afraid of making mistakes than they are of losing opportunities by moving too slowly. We have a saying: "Move fast and break things." The idea is that if you never break anything, you're probably not moving fast enough.


3. Be Bold
Building great things means taking risks. This can be scary and prevents most companies from doing the bold things they should. However, in a world that's changing so quickly, you're guaranteed to fail if you don't take any risks. We have another saying: "The riskiest thing is to take no risks." We encourage everyone to make bold decisions, even if that means being wrong some of the time.


4. Be Open
We believe that a more open world is a better world because people with more information can make better decisions and have a greater impact. That goes for running our company as well. We work hard to make sure everyone at Facebook has access to as much information as possible about every part of the company so they can make the best decisions and have the greatest impact.


5. Build Social Value
Once again, Facebook exists to make the world more open and connected, and not just to build a company. We expect everyone at Facebook to focus every day on how to build real value for the world in everything they do.

--------------------

Amazon

Amazon Leadership Principles

Whether you are an individual contributor or a manager of a large team, you are an Amazon leader. These are our leadership principles and every Amazonian is guided by these principles.

Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job”.

Invent and Simplify
Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here”. As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.

Are Right, A Lot
Leaders are right a lot. They have strong business judgment and good instincts.

Hire and Develop the Best
Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others.

Insist on the Highest Standards
Leaders have relentlessly high standards - many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.

Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.

Bias for Action
Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking.

Frugality
We try not to spend money on things that don’t matter to customers. Frugality breeds resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention. There are no extra points for headcount, budget size or fixed expense.

Vocally Self Critical
Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. Leaders come forward with problems or information, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.

Earn Trust of Others
Leaders are sincerely open-minded, genuinely listen, and are willing to examine their strongest convictions with humility.

Dive Deep Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details and audit frequently. No task is beneath them.

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.

Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle. 

Kahn Academy

A small team trying to do something big

We're a small team trying our best to improve the way the world learns. Too many people around the globe don’t have access to good education materials, or they are forced to learn through a system that doesn't properly cater to their individual needs. We think the technology exists today to fundamentally change this, and we're trying to build the tools and resources every student deserves.

• We believe a few great people can make a big difference. 
• We strive to hire the very best — people who are passionate, thoughtful and creative. 
• We believe it is our obligation to relentlessly focus on what the learner values, and we make every decision with the learner in mind.

Local Leadership Firm: Leadership Forum

Looking for a local leadership company who might be able to speak to our students about leadership, I ran across a fairly local company:  Leadership Forum


They have a great library and a newsletter with great links about leadership in today's world.