Module 1 – SLP

LEADERSHIP TRAITS AND TRIBAL LEADERSHIP

Drawing from the materials in this module, you will administer the Tribal Leadership survey to a member of an organization to which you have access.

After you have determined the organization’s present stage, you will interview the organizational member to glean more detail concerning the culture of his or her organization.

This can be any type of organization (some examples include a business, church, sports team, or volunteer organization). The person should be willing to participate in an interview about his or her organization’s culture. You may conduct the interview in person, via phone, or via email.

• Prior to the interview, ask the interviewee to respond to the Tribal Leadership Survey questions (you will need to provide your name and email address to receive the survey results). Access the survey at http://www.culturesync.net/toolbox/culturemeter-survey/. (Note the results of the Tribal Leadership survey, specifically the tribal stage of the interviewee’s organization).
• Interview your subject (interviewee) to discover information regarding his/her organization’s culture by asking the following questions:
  • Tell me about the relationship of your organization’s people to the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
  • Are the people in your organization used to taking risks (innovation) or is organizational stability more important (the status quo)?
  • Are the people in your organization more focused on the details of their work (the means) or toward the outcomes (the end results)?
  • Would you say that your organization’s leadership is more process-oriented or people-oriented?
  • Does your organization focus more on recognizing the accomplishments of individual members or the accomplishments of teams?
  • Do people tend to be easygoing and cooperative, or are they aggressive and highly competitive?
  • Describe the general demeanor of the organization’s people. In other words, are people mostly disengaged and apathetic, or are they engaged and energetic?
  • Is your organization more formal or less formal in its day-to-day operations and approaches?
  • Are there any organizational standards or ideals that are particularly important to the people in the organization? If so, what are they?
  • What words best describe the overall “mood” of the organization?
  • What rituals are important in the organization?
  • What symbols are most important to the people in the organization?
  • Are there any stories that people tell newcomers that help to indoctrinate them into the organization? If so, what are they?
  • What artifacts are most important to the people in the organization (e.g., mottos, slogans, meetings, awards, new hire trainings, etc.?)
  • What are people most proud of?
  • What do people complain most about?
  • What shared assumptions come to mind (that are important to the people of the organization)?

SLP Assignment Expectations

The objective of this SLP will be to accomplish the following:

• Determine the organization’s tribal leadership stage (using the Tribal Leadership Survey).
• Recognize the tangible and intangible cultural characteristics that define the tribe and tribal stage (using the interview questions).
• Determine how well the identified stage of tribal leadership (based on the Tribal Leadership Survey results) aligns with the characteristics of the organization’s overall culture (based on the interview questions).
• Write a 3- to 4-page paper (not counting the title page or reference section) applying tribal leadership to organizational culture by noting the impact the tribal stage you observed has on the organizational culture of the interviewee’s organization.

Background reading Module 1

Ackerman, C. (2017). The big five personality traits & the 5-factor model explained. Positive Psychology Program. Available in the Trident Online Library. Retrieved from https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/big-five-personality-theory/

Berson, Alan S. (2013). Changes in conversations from manager to leader. [Video File]. Available in the Trident Online Library.

Hall, G. (2009). Tribal leadership: An interview with David C. Logan and John King. Reflections, 9 (3-4), 15-19. Retrieved from [EBSCO host] Business Source Complete, AN Accession Number: 57520554. Available in the Trident Online Library.

Logan, D. (2011). Tribal Leadership. Google Tech Talks, [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jirePLc0U1A

Partridge, A. (2012). Tribal leadership. How does it affect your company culture? Enviable Workplace. Retrieved from http://enviableworkplace.com/tribal-leadership-and-your-company-culture/

Chapter 15.2: Understanding organizational culture. (2012). In Organizational behavior. Retrieved from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_organizational-behavior-v1.1/s19-02-understanding-organizational-c.html. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.