When talking about leadership there is a lot of fuzz about the leader. Being aware that the leader is in limbo without the group, our focus is on the process between leader and group. In other words: Leading by understanding the nature of the group.
Behaviour in teams is determined by their team culture, the beliefs members hold about what it means to be a team member and how team members are expected to behave. Members want to feel pride and satisfaction from belonging to the team and it motivates them to put the team first. These beliefs drive relationships between team members and provide the context in which individuality and talent is expressed. In high performing teams clear beliefs lead to a strong psychological attachment to the team and high levels of collaboration – in ordinary teams the psychological attachment is lower and behaviour is more individualistic and internally competitive, leading to higher levels of stress, lower satisfaction and inferior performance.
The TRIBE methodology was developed at the Centre for Team Excellence. The approach has been successfully used by more than 40 organisations in more than 25 countries. It has its origins in Social Identity Theory which explains why people behave differently when in a group situation than they do one-to-one. Since its first publication in 1978 Social Identity Theory has been the pre-eminent explanation of the group processes and the most researched internationally. It contributes to our understanding of the “bright side” of teams – the foundations upon which strength is built.
The TRIBE team performance system consists of a series of conversations, agreements and actions around its five Foundations that enable the team to establish a shared understanding of what it means to be in this team and then to act upon it.
Understanding TRIBE and being able to use it gives team members the opportunity to take control over their team and to lead it towards high performance. Being a great team member, or indeed leader, does not depend on personality but on what you do to create a social context in the team that leads to passion, pride and performance.
TRIBE has five Foundations each of which contributes to a strong performance oriented team identity. The Foundations are laid in a cycle of conversations and actions.
Leaders who invest time in discussing and acting on TRIBE in their teams will co-create a unique blueprint for team performance.
