By Becky Smith
I've recently been studying leadership models, with the intent of picking the top 10 and comparing them to my two favorites, The Leadership Challenge by Posner and Kouzes and the organizational learning model and treatise on leadership by Senge in his 2006 edition of The Fifth Discipline. In the process, I stumbled upon a quirky little book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, by Seth Godin.
Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and change agent. In Tribes, Godin paraphrases the Peter Principle; his version reads, "In every organization everyone rises to the level at which they become paralyzed with fear." Fear of criticism, blame, and lack of faith are the stumbling blocks that prevent many from assuming a leadership role. Godin believes that, because of this fear, many of us are content to be followers, to push harder and harder without achieving tangible results.
His notion is that people need to break free from this constraint and embrace their roles as leaders, from wherever they sit in an organization. And the most effective way to make a difference is to find or assemble a "tribe" and lead it. According to Godin, a tribe is a group of people who are connected--to each other and to a leader--by a shared interest.
Today's social networks help us "assemble" or follow a tribe of those who share our interests and passion rather than wasting energy on those who may not. These technologies also appeal to our human need to belong, to contribute, to work together on things that matter, to be included, and to make a difference. Godin presents social networking as an opportunity to create a movement based on shared meaning and actionable goals.
A tribe's success depends in large part on its story or ability to say who we are, where we are going, and how we are going to get there. According to Godin, to support this process, leaders must "paint a picture of the future." When a leader and tribe have a 
compelling vision and aren't afraid to confront problems, the system changes. His belief is that if you "fall in love with the system, you lose the ability to grow."
Godin's challenge is that we need more heretics, people who take initiative, who don't ask for permission but "ask for forgiveness later." Great leaders do what they believe in, care, listen, and are responsible for how others hear them. They lead not out of fear, but out of the desire to contribute meaningfully to achieving a goal. To that end, they often deflect personal glory for pride in the collective efforts of their tribe.
I am not sure how my fellow systems thinkers would respond to this book, but I do believe too many of us are driven by fear and would rather follow than lead, as leading takes us out of our comfort zone.
I look forward to dialogue about some of Godin's beliefs about tribes and leadership. For those of you who are currently part of a "tribal cultural," what lessons are the rest of us missing?
Becky Smith has 28 years of experience in leadership, systems thinking, implementation, conflict resolution, and business ownership/ management. She currently teaches leadership, action planning, and presentation skills to Middle Eastern, North African, and Pakistan groups. As a certified facilitator, she conducts The Leadership Challenge workshops and administers the Leadership Practice Inventory. Becky has a master's degree in public administration with a minor in business management, and holds a doctorate focused on leadership, learning organizations, and systems thinking.
By Eve M. Enslow
I lost my grandmother the week before the Pegasus conference. Even though she was 96, my Grandma was so 
energetic that her death came as a complete surprise. In responding to the challenge of organizing a memorial event on short notice, my family showed up as capable, compassionate, and courageous collaborators. The results have been truly amazing.
I wondered to myself, "What do we know and value as a family that made our collaborative effort work so seamlessly? Could these same practices be applied to collaboration at work?" These questions were particularly timely, as my colleagues and I gave a presentation on innovation that included tips for collaboration.
In my reflection, I came up with the following three observations on collaborating well with others:
1. Let people do what they do best. Each of us has unique talents and gifts. Empower each person to take on a specific job or role. Let them make decisions based on their experience and expertise. This requires trust and respect. It also takes self-discipline not to override a decision just because you might have done it differently.
2. Keep everyone informed. Communicate clearly and regularly so that everyone feels "in the know" and can offer feedback on things they feel strongly about. Be sensitive, receptive, and caring when listening to feedback.
3. Find creative ways to incorporate everyone's ideas. It ensures that participants will stay inspired and engaged in the effort, and it makes the end result better.
What other thoughts do you have about making collaborative efforts work? When have you seen a group pull something great together in a short timeframe with little or no conflict? What behaviors and values were they demonstrating? Be well, my friends!
Eve M. Enslow is a senior consultant at Telstar Consulting Services. She held both business and technical roles during her nine-year tenure at Microsoft, culminating in the position of Diversity Manager for the Windows Business Group. Her current emphasis is on consulting and executive coaching. Click here for more of her writings.
By Adriano Pianesi
At the beginning of my session at the 2009 Pegasus Conference, "The Learning Construction Site: Unlearning and Rebuilding New Knowledge," I asked attendees to write down the name of a teacher who had made a difference in their lives. Because the
session focused on good practices for making learning relevant to learners, I wanted participants to reflect on their experiences and share what they perceived as the observable behaviors that made that person successful. When we separate behaviors from personality, we realize that anyone can learn effective teaching practices. People's reflections are captured here.
One participant from China mentioned "Albert Einstein" as his most significant teacher. He went on to say, "In a dictatorship, I never had a teacher who made a difference in my life. So my inspiration to learn came from reading the books of Albert Einstein."
I had done this learning task in my workshop for years. This was the first time that I was confronted with the fact that the horror of a totalitarian regime might rob people even of the basic nurture for the soul that is the inspiration that comes from a great teacher. It takes courage to learn under those conditions. I never realized how this learning task was in fact asking people to share how courageous individuals can shape and inspire our own courage.
Adriano Pianesi is the principal of ParticipAction Consulting, Inc., and has more than 15 years of experience in facilitating organizational change. He can be reached at apianesi@participactioninc.com
Graphic recording by Dierdre Crowley
By Jon Bergstrom
The 19th Annual Pegasus Conference concluded last week in Seattle, Washington. The conference theme was "Now More Than Ever: Critical Skills for Courageous Organizations."
Many speakers posed relevant questions and identified opportunities for all of us to consider becoming more courageous in our organizational thinking. I challenged myself to think of a courageous organization.
Here are some reasons that I believe the Lewis and Clark 
expedition to the Pacific Coast and the Corps of Discovery are a shining example.
Preparation
Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis, his 28-year-old personal secretary, to lead the Corps of Discovery.
- Lewis in turn chose 32-year-old William Clark as his co-leader.
- Together, they selected four dozen men and gathered guns, provisions, and gifts for the expedition.
- Lewis spent the spring of 1803 in Philadelphia studying biology, navigation, map making, medicine, and meteorology.
- They consulted with numerous people and their men to consider the variety of supplies needed for the lengthy trip.
Their preparation was so thorough that they never ran out of paper to write on or gunpowder for their weapons.
Teamwork
Lewis and Clark selected men who had a variety of talents and experiences. The diversity of their crew and the teamwork they displayed were keys to their success.
- The leaders ensured that each person had a clear view of the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead.
- They treated every member of the team with respect, something that was evident in all of their interactions.
- The Corps survived a desperately cold winter near the Mandan Villages in North Dakota (sometimes -45 degrees F). By spring, the men had bonded in close friendships and were all of one mind when they departed.
- The French trapper, Charbonneau, and his wife, Sacagawea, were asked to join the expedition. They accepted, despite the fact that Sacagawea had just given birth to a baby boy 8 weeks earlier.
- The addition of Sacagawea proved to be extraordinarily important. She and her baby brought a sense of family to the Corps. Her connections to the Shosoni tribe were later the key to gaining access to horses for the journey over the Bitterroot Mountains. Finally, her presence convinced women of the Nez Perce tribe that their men should not kill the strangers who had come.
- The Corps treated the many people they met on the trip as friends and fellow human beings.
- This often took great courage, as they were uncertain how they would be received.
- They always attempted friendship, giving gifts and trading goods. They never used their superior power to gain advantage.
The men were a team to the end--and would have died for each other, if necessary. They were individually and collectively courageous. They maintained their integrity and that of our young nation throughout their journey.
Hard Work
There were no easy parts of the trip west. Some moments were almost impossibly difficult. The men's vision, commitment, and teamwork kept them together.
- They shared the hard work and understood each other's talents.
- They knew whom to turn to when they needed the best marksman or fire starters.
- They maintained their mental balance in the face of many unforeseen circumstances and difficulties.
- They found that together they were much stronger than the sum of their parts.
Just reading about the difficulties of their journey is tiring. The real thing required lots of guts.
Conclusions
The Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806, two and one half years after their departure. Some 5,000 people lined the banks to cheer their return.
They were as famous in their day as our first men on the moon. Their journey opened our imagination to new possibilities and opportunities. While the team members each received considerable adulation and rewards, their greatest gift was their own knowledge of their capacity to discover and to overcome adversity.
As we think about our own explorations, I believe we can learn much about what it means to be a courageous organization from the brave men and women of the Corps of Discovery.
Jon Bergstrom provides a wide range of consulting services to businesses and non-profit organizations through the Bergstrom Learning Center in Tehachapi, California.
Painting Lewis and Clark on the Lower Columbia by Charles Marion Russell; this image is in the public domain due to age.
By Janice Molloy
The 2009 Pegasus Conference in Seattle, WA, is over, but in many ways the learnings have just begun. We have invited our presenters to share some of the highlights from their 
presentations over the next several weeks. In the meantime, here are some key points from the first day's keynotes. We'll share a taste of the other plenary sessions in future postings.
Peter Senge on Courage
The overarching theme for the first day was that of courage. Peter Senge started by musing on the theme of his talk, "Organizational Courage Begins with You." He pointed out that the word "courage," from its roots, means "heart" and "opening, rending, tearing." Peter asked participants to consider the question, "What is at the heart of my organization? What does it stand for?"
While this question may seem relatively simple, Senge suggested that it requires real courage to take a stand for something. Doing so is both an act of commitment, in that it implies action, and an act of vulnerability, in that we may not know exactly where we're heading or how to get there.
Darcy Winslow then joined Peter and described what it can look like when, through individual acts of courage, an organization's heart begins to awaken. She talked about how she and others at Nike, within its masculine corporate culture, led the company's efforts to involve women and girls in sports. Studies have documented that participation in sports can improve girls' lives by boosting their self-confidence and self-awareness, in turn reducing teen pregnancy, lowing rates of domestic violence, and lessening the incidence of breast cancer--ultimately leading to a higher quality of life for families.
Through a mixture of passion and courage, combined with a strategy of framing initiatives within the company's existing lexicon, Darcy and her colleagues have spearheaded numerous projects supporting female athletes around the world. Darcy provided a vivid example of why, as Peter concluded, "We need courage now more than ever."
David Whyte on the "Three Marriages"
David Whyte spoke about the three marriages in each of our lives: with our partner, with our work, with ourselves. Referring to the term "work-life balance" as "too small a phrase," he talked about a "marriage of marriages," in which the three important aspects of our lives are in ongoing conversation. Through a series of poems, he painted several truths that apply equally to all of the marriages: showing up and being present; "giving away" your work, partner, and self cyclically, then being open to what comes back; learning to change in anticipation of the changing seasons; cultivating a relationship with the unknown.
David echoed themes from Peter Senge's talk about the difficulty of and necessity for courageous conversations. As he pointed out, difficult conversations will happen with or without us. To illustrate, he cited the case of a food conglomerate that balked at discussing the rising obesity epidemic in the U.S. and shortly thereafter found its products being removed from school vending machines in droves. By seeking out our areas of vulnerability rather than ignoring them, we keep these kinds of important conversations alive--and better prepare ourselves for the "unknown future" that awaits us.
Janice Molloy is content director of Pegasus Communications, managing editor of The Systems Thinker newsletter, and program director of the annual Systems Thinking in Action conference.
Photo of Space Needle: Original source; used based on the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.