Book Review – Tribal Leadership
Image: Tribal Leadership by Len Lantz (CC BY-NC-ND)
Synopsis: Len's Star Rating: 10 out of 10. A phenomenal book on leadership, the best book I’ve read.
BY LEN LANTZ, MD / 6.28.2024; No. 125
Disclaimer: Yes, I am a physician, but I’m not your doctor, and this article does not create a doctor-patient relationship. This article is for educational purposes and should not be seen as medical advice. You should consult with your physician before you rely on this information. This post also contains affiliate links. Please click this LINK for the full disclaimer.
Star Rating – 10 out of 10
Rating guide: 1 = horrible, 5 = average and 10 = wow
Authors
Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright
About the authors
Dave Logan is a professor, speaker, leadership and performance coach, and co-founder of Care4th, a consulting firm specializing in burnout. He is a best-selling author and co-author of several books and a co-founder and senior partner emeritus at CultureSync, a management consulting firm. He achieved his PhD in organizational culture at the University of Southern California and is a faculty senior lecturer at the USC Marshall School of Business.
John King is a speaker, leadership coach, founder, and founding partner of multiple business and leadership organizations. He has previously taught internationally at several leadership academies and the University of Southern California. He co-authored the book The Coaching Revolution with Dave Logan.
Halee Fischer-Wright is an author, physician, and the president and CEO of Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), representing over 15,000 group medical practices across the United States. She completed her MD at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, her residency program in pediatrics at the Phoenix Children's Hospital, and her MA in medical management at the USC Marshall School of Business. Her second book was titled Back to Balance: The Art, Science, and Business of Medicine.
General description
Tribal Leadership is a book that defines and explores five cultural stages of people in their tribes (organizations), which the authors explain as groups of 20-150 people. Authors Logan, King, and Fischer-Wright share many coaching tips for interventions and upgrading tribal culture. Stage Four and Five leaders enact Tribal Leadership in their organization. They often manifest positive changes in the people around them through the words they use and the types of relationships they form. Tribal Leadership promises to create a better work environment through a healthier culture with better experiences, relationships, and performance by getting your organization to Stage Four. Topics covered in this book include:
Defining the five tribal stages of groups that have their own unique structure, relationships, mindset/attitudes, and communication
Explaining leverage points to change tribal culture for the better
Outlining the advantages of Stage Four culture to encourage people to move beyond individual performance at Stage Three
Showing how to interact with others who are at a different cultural stage than you
Unique and most important aspects
Tribal Leadership is the most essential leadership book I have ever read, but I have to say that I didn’t fully appreciate its merits when I first read it a decade ago. My opinion then that the book was only slightly better than average was because I was not near what the authors call the “Epiphany.” Going through an “epiphany” is an awakening process of understanding where you are with your leadership and interactions in your organization, and how things could be much better—how you could be less frustrated and far more effective and productive.
Over the last decade, I’ve been moving through phases of Stage Three leadership. My progress has felt grindingly slow, most likely because I haven’t had a Stage Four mentor to guide me. So, it was no surprise to me when authors Logan, King, and Fischer-Wright explained that there is a vast gulf—as they put it, “Grand Canyon huge”—between Stages Three and Four.
While Tribal Leadership defines the leadership epiphany, my own epiphany came in the years following my first read of this book, through a process of self-reflection, taking feedback from others seriously, and reading and rereading the book Leadership and Self-Deception (see my Book Review). I’ve read dozens of books on leadership and management. I recently reread Tribal Leadership (post “epiphany”), and I can say without hesitation that Tribal Leadership is the best book I’ve ever read on leadership. Important ideas in this book include:
Helpful chapter summaries for consolidating the information and giving guidance in implementing the ideas
Why Stage Three organizations feel dehumanizing
The ability to leave a legacy in Stages Four and Five, even though the outcomes are not achieved at an individual level alone
The techniques of leveraging triads to demonstrate authenticity, enhance team efforts, and multiply outcomes
Three findings that indicate a person may be operating at a Stage Four level
A tendency toward holding meetings of at least three people
“Giving credit and keeping blame”
Offering both support and encouragement from the entire team during new team member training
How a noble cause can cut across individual differences and create alignment in tribes
The “dark side” of Stage Four
How trust is viewed at different cultural stages
The psychological differences between setting a goal (suggests a current failure) versus describing and setting a desired outcome (assumes success as a process)
Differentiating core assets and “common ground” assets
The impact of rhetoric on organizational culture
Best quotes
“A tribe is any group of people between about 20 and 150 who know each other enough that, if they saw each other walking down the street, would stop and say ‘hello.’”
“A small company is a tribe, and a large company is a tribe of tribes.”
“The theme of Stage Three, the dominant culture and 49 percent of workplace tribes in the United States, is ‘I’m great.’ Or, more fully,’ I’m great, and you’re not.’ Normally, doctors operate at this level on their best days, as do professors, attorneys, and salespeople.”
“In our research, people are accurate in identifying the cultural stage of others…There is one exception: people give themselves a two-stage bonus.”
“While Stage Three is the zone of personal accomplishment, it’s an area where people tend to feel let down by others.”
“Tribal Leadership can never emerge out of weakness.”
“Having interviewed thousands of people who have made it into Stage Four, the zone of Tribal Leadership, we discovered that every person had an awakening.”
“Ken Wilbur…told us that these two parts of a human being—her psychology/worldview/spirituality and her conversations—tend to advance in stages together.”
“Stage Four tribes pay almost no attention to organizational boundaries.”
“When people talk about ‘a principal without which life wouldn’t be worth living’ (which is our definition of a core value), they become excited and vibrant.”
“The single most important takeaway from Stage Four is that Tribal Leaders follow the core values of the tribe no matter what the cost.”
“A value that isn’t for everyone undoes itself.”
“The principle is this: where trust is an issue, there is no trust. Stage Four assumes trust. Stage Three says trust must be earned.”
“The tribe is always more powerful than an individual, no matter what title is on his business card.”
“Furthermore, when a culture changes, it tends to stay changed.”
Who would enjoy this book?
Readers looking for a leadership book that will take them beyond individual success to exceptional group outcomes will likely enjoy Tribal Leadership.
Who would not enjoy this book?
Readers looking for a book on management or one promoting dyadic relationships are unlikely to enjoy Tribal Leadership.
Conclusion
Tribal Leadership is a phenomenal book on leadership, the best book I’ve read.