What stage is your organization at right now?

 Have you ever started an organization and you work on it for a period of time, and you start thinking about which stage is your organization at?

There are many cases where a strategy that anyone can recognize as superior fails in reality. Why is that?

And sometimes, an organization made up of seemingly ordinary people produces amazing results that exceed people's imagination. What causes that to happen?

The answer to this question can be found in the relationship between the leader and the group.

“When great groups recognize their great leaders, great leaders build great groups and make an effort that will go down in history.”
(Leadership Master, Warren Venice)

However, contrary to this general approach, there are people who have analyzed the culture of organizations and groups in a more complex and elaborate way!

"Humans survived the Ice Age in groups."

“The group helped build the agricultural community and later the city.”

“People form groups, just as birds flock and fish flock.”

"All collective cultures can be divided into Stage 1 through Stage 5, each with a different dominant culture"
(Professor David Logan)

Today, outside the framework of a general discussion about organizational culture, let's talk about a more productive corporate culture with a focus on tribal leadership.

* Tribal Leadership
: Translated into tribal leadership or group leadership, a leadership theory that focuses on the relationship between the leader and the organization rather than focusing on simple individual leadership

It is said that about 76% of the total group are located between Stage 1 and Stage 3.

In other words, people hate to admit it, but it means that more than three-fourths of the entire cohort are at or below Stage 3.

So, first of all, what are the characteristics of each stage?

Let's take a look at this first!

Stage 1: "Life sucks" (Life is like shit)

In fact, from the perspective of running a company, there is no need to think deeply about the Stage 1 culture.

Usually, Stage 1 culture is observed in about 2% of the total group by American standards, because most of it appears in gangs or prisons.

However, it is important to pay attention to the fact that the words spoken by members are directly related to their actual actions.

In the case of those who belong to Stage 1, there are many cases where people are caught up in the tragedy that 'life itself was twisted in the first place.

And this kind of thinking leads to the extreme conclusion that 'it doesn't matter what you do in a world full of tragedies anyway'.

Therefore, they do not hesitate to commit not only crimes such as violence but also actions such as suicide!

This means that by observing the words of the members, you can read the worldview they see.

This approach is one of the important pillars of tribal leadership, and I hate to admit if there is pessimism about life within the organization, but it is reasonable to think that the organization is currently in Stage 1.

Stage 2: "My life sucks" (My life is ruined)

Although Stage 1 and Stage 2 may look similar at first glance, there is a big difference between the two.

Stage 1 is pessimistic about life itself, while

People in Stage 2 have a weak negative perception of life itself but have a perception that "my life is twisted" for some reason or cause.

And the factors that twist their lives at work are very diverse, such as the company system, their relationship with their boss, their educational background, and their home environment.

Those who stayed in Stage 2, basically have low self-esteem and use a lot of negative expressions such as “I can’t” and “I don’t think I can”.

Usually, Stage 2 is found in most organizations that have progressed to bureaucracy. And about 22% of all organizations stay in this stage.

Stage 3: "I am great" (I am great)

Stage 3 is found in 49% of the total population or half.

In particular, most of the expert groups fall into Stage 3.

In the case of these people, they have already been successful in the field of their choice, and this gives them a lot of confidence!

However, there is one blind spot that people at this stage have.

That is, there is another sentence hidden in the words “I am amazing”.

That's "I'm great, but you're not".

For those who stayed in Stage 3, most of them try to prove their superiority by comparing themselves with others.

This is easily found in politics.

In particular, the negative strategy of choosing yourself by slandering others is typical Stage 3 culture!

In this competition, people achieve some achievements, but most of these achievements are at the personal level.

Stage 4: "We are great"

Stage 4 can be said to be a step further evolved from Stage 3. They value group or tribal success more than individual success!

That's why the phrase "we're great" appears frequently in their conversations.

However, there is one hidden meaning in these words. It's like, "We're great, but they're not."

As such, even in Stage 4, there is a clear competition.

However, in Stage 3, if everyone except me was a potential competitor,

In Stage 4, the organization or groups outside the group become rivals. Uniquely, in the case of Stage 4, the stronger the rival group, the stronger the bond of the organization.

The most successful sports teams are usually in Stage 4, so they have a great desire for achievement and a hunger for the team that is higher than the individual level.

So, if you're an organization leader, shouldn't you be aiming to lead your organization to Stage 4?

Stage 5: "Life is great" (Life is great in itself)

Stage 5 is in fact,  What many people call 'the realm of dreams'.

They don't even need a competitor.

Those who have reached Stage 5 simply do their best to leave a greater result in the world based on their noble cause and core values!

And most of the great innovations that change the world are born when organizations and leaders reach Stage 5.

However, tribal leadership experts say that fewer than 2% of organizations or groups reach this stage.

It can literally be called the realm of dreams! All levels are connected, and you can only ascend one level each time!

So far, we have looked at tribal leadership.

There are two main things to note here.

First Thing:

First, the words of members of an organization influence their behavior and thus determine the organization's culture.

If the members of the organization use the expression “my life is ruined, my life is twisted” a lot. It means that their behavior and culture are very likely to end up staying in Stage 2.

Therefore, if you are an organizational leader, you need to listen to what the members are saying. Listening is a smart way to measure organizational culture!

Second Thing:

The second thing to note is that all steps are continuous. Only one step at a time, But it can rise.

Leaders who dream of great things will look for ways to quickly soar in the hopes of taking their organization to Stage 5. But those who study tribal leadership say this is impossible in the first place. This is because each step requires different actions.

And those who have studied tribal leadership say that most great leaders are not born in a Stage 5 situation in the first place and that many of them begin at Stage 1 in childhood and progress to Stage 5 sequentially.

As such, tribal leadership experts say that anyone can elevate an organization by using the key levers of each stage well.

“What level is your organization at now?”

“Because the leader forms the organization, and the leader develops the group”

“And the consequences of these actions (eventually) come back to the leader himself.”

“In other words, a leader becomes a greater being than can be achieved alone as a single individual by devoting himself or herself to the organization.”