Three key elements for an inspiring tribe!

The question remains: how do you build a meaningful, effective and inspiring learning tribe?

Even though we live in the 21st century, learning together remains a primal human need. 3000 years ago, there were already learning tribes, think of examples of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Jesus with his 12 disciples and Benedict of Nursia, who initiated more than 500 learning tribes in the form of small monasteries all over Europe as early as 500 AD. But also, the guilds in the Middle Ages and the Hernhutters who, under the leadership of Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, founded villages around the world between 1730 and 1830 where people learned together. Think also of the Inklings, the learning tribe of C.S. Lewis, Tolkien and eight other professors from Oxford, who came together between 1930 and 1945 to learn from and with each other.

While studying all these different ‘tribes’, we noticed that they all provided three essential necessities of life for the participants:

1. An Inspirational Community
2. A Relational Community
3. A Performance based Community

And the stronger the balanced mix between these three forms of connectivity was achieved, the stronger, more innovative, safer and more effective the tribe was!

1. An inspirational – community

Where people experience and are part of a common mission and purpose, a deep community grows between the members. People need to be inspired by each other. In-spiritus, indicates that you are addressed, challenged and motivated in the depths of your being.

So, make sure there are elements of inspiration in every tribe meeting you organize. This can be by listening to an inspiring text together, watching a short inspiring video, reflecting on inspiring art, or even singing a song together.

It’s not for nothing that choirs are the places where most relationships arise. Communal singing connects people on a deeper level.

2. A relational – community

A tribe where all members feel safe, at home and are welcomed, is a place where everyone can learn optimally. To achieve this you need three basic elements:

• Confidence

The moment someone has healthy self-confidence and has the courage to trust others, all the filters in the brain open and he or she can fully understand what the other person means. And where people understand each other, they can also learn optimally with and from each other.

• Respect

Every human being has protection filters in his brain that ensure that you only open up to people who respect you, and therefore do not have to be afraid of you. So, if you want to build a super learning tribe, make sure you build a culture of appreciation as well as a culture of feedback.

• A safe home

The moment I meet you, and you don’t “have to” do anything to be accepted by me, only then do you feel safe. That’s why it’s extremely important for a tribe to build in times when you ‘don’t have to perform together’. This can be a communal meal, a walk, fun or an inspiring social experience.

 

3. A performance based – community

In addition to the depth of the ‘inspiration’ and the security of the ‘relationship’, you also need the constant challenge of ‘performance’ to feel part of a strong learning-tribe. Here are four elements that help to build a strong performance based community:

• Mission, vision and strategy

A clear mission and vision explains the meaning of the tribe, and help everyone to focus together on what unites us. But this mission and vision must be translated into a clear strategy and achievable milestones for the period of one year. Only then can each member connect his personal mission, vision and learning goals with those of the tribe.

• Innovation and customer focus

Every tribe lives by developing new things together that ultimately benefit the customers who we want to serve.

• Mastery and passion for quality

Each tribe member wants to be proud of his own achievement and communal achievements. And this happens much more consistently if everyone continues to actively grow in their unique craftsmanship, and we all have and maintain the same passion for quality.

•  Stewardship and discipline

The advantage of a tribe is that you can learn a lot from each other. The disadvantage may be that through pointless meetings and an overkill of (often digital) communication, you lose all the energy you need to build together. That’s why it’s essential that everyone learns to work effectively on their own, but that you also learn to work together effectively and in a disciplined way as a tribe.

In summary: you build a strong, meaningful and effective tribe by choosing a healthy mix between:

• Inspiration: getting inspired by each other over and over again.
• Relationship: through trust, respect, meet-and-greet and creating a safe home.
• Performance: through mission, customer focus, mastery and discipline, build something that is sustainable.

Good luck, and also a lot of learning and job satisfaction.

A warm invitation:

Sign up for the tribes starting 29 May 2020, and start your growth towards VUCA proof professionalism. Here are more information on the Leadership Tribe.

We are also available to co-design your desired tribe.

Contact us at info-sa@xpand.eu or 079  434 9030 to sign-up.

Sincere greetings,

Xpand South Africa Team

Empowering individuals and organizations to thrive.