Great Boss Dead Boss
I picked up this book as a recommendation from a friend of mine.
Great Boss Dead Boss by Ray Immelman
I currently work as a project manager, helping organizations redesign their internal operations and achieve step level improvements to their performance.
The three main questions we go through in the whole process is answering the following questions:
- What to change
- What to change to
- How to cause the change
As one would probably imagine, the skill of change management comes into play in this line of work. After working with a couple of organizations, however, I started seeing an unsettling trend. What I started seeing from my own experience is that a great process that can yield impressive results only last if the culture in place allows it to not only continue the new process, but to build upon it, and keep the Process Of Ongoing Improvement (POOGI).
Sure, I’ve read in many books that “everything rises and falls on leadership,” but if I don’t also address how the leaders treat their tribe, it won’t create the environment to allow the organization to flourish. Leaders need to keep in mind how each individual feels secure in the environment, and how the culture helps to nurture each person’s self-worth. The same goes for the team as a whole. The team must also feel secure and feel like they are adding value to the organization.
I recommend this book to anyone looking to improve their “tribal culture” in their organization. Here are the main points of the book:
Tribal Dimension 1- Individuals are socially, emotionally, and psychologically defined by their tribal membership
Tribal Dimension 2 – Individuals act to reinforce their security when under threat ( Individual Security IS)
Tribal Dimension 3 – Individuals act to reinforce their self-worth when their security is not under threat (Individual Value IV)
Tribal Dimension 4 – Tribes act to secure their self-preservation if their security is under threat (Tribal Security TS)
Tribal Dimension 5 – Tribes act to reinforce their self-worth when their security is not under threat (Tribal Value TV)
Tribal Attribute 1 – A strong tribe must have a common enemy
Tribal Attribute 2 – A Strong tribe has clearly defined symbols
Tribal Attribute 3 – A strong tribe offers a superordinate identity to all sub-tribes
Tribal Attribute 4 – A strong tribe has a credible, just cause for its continued existence
Tribal Attribute 5 – A Strong tribe has an accepted rite of passage
Tribal Attribute 6 – A strong tribe has clear external measures of success
Tribal Attribute 7 – A strong tribe understands and protects its source of power
Tribal Attribute 8 – A Strong tribe knows how it compares to the ‘untouchables’
Tribal Attribute 9 – The criteria for tribal membership are clear and credible
Tribal Attribute 10 – Tribes communicate in a non-traditional, subjective and intuitive manner
Tribal Attribute 11 – a strong tribe develops its own unique language
Tribal Attribute 12 – Tribal roles are fundamentally different from accepted functional roles
Tribal Attribute 13 – Strong tribes record and celebrate significant events that reinforce their identity and value
Tribal Attribute 14 – A strong tribe has clearly defined and well-known justice mechanism
Tribal Attribute 15 – A strong tribe has a clearly defined icon that embodies the tribal value
Tribal Attribute 16 – A strong tribe has a walled city – a place of refuge where things of value to their tribe are kept
Tribal Attribute 17 – A strong tribe possesses objects of value that embody the tribe’s value
Tribal Attribute 18 – A strong tribe has a revered figure head
Tribal Attribute 19 – A strong tribe celebrates and care for the skills, tools and implements requirements for its prosperity
Tribal Attribute 20 – A strong tribe expects unquestioning loyalty
Tribal Attribute 21 – A strong tribe has clearly defined roles, responsibilities, values, authority, power structure and chain of command
Tribal Attribute 22 – A strong tribe has a leader dedicated to the tribe’s success