What It Takes to Lead a "Tribe"
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.