THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR TRIBE DRIVES YOUR CULTURE San diego, Ca

The Three Laws of Performance How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them How a situation occurs arises in language Future based language transforms how situations occur to people SOURCES: THREE LAWS OF PERFORMANCE by Steve Zaffron and Dave Logan and TRIBAL LEADERSHIP BY Dave Logan, John King and Halee Fischer-Wright

THE THREE LAWS Think about the notion of the world occurring to us. (Eyewitness reports vary significantly) The language that we use determines a situation as we see it. (Impossible or great opportunity) We use language to describe our past, present and our future. Without transformative language we cannot imagine or achieve an amazing future

WHAT THIS MEANS Helen Keller had no language until one was given to her. So what’s a tribe? Tribes share language, values and relationships Logan says there are five stages and they are progressive from worst to best. (Stage Five outperforms Four, and Four outperforms Three and so on) Language allows us to identify stages and track our progress

STAGE ONE – “LIFE SUCKS” Prison mentality. Fatalistic World is very unfair and will never get better Hate their jobs and relationships Gossip and undermine company initiatives You hear words like “can’t”, “never”, expletives, “hate” They cannot envision their life improving – EVER Toxic to your culture - especially small tribes 2% of the workforce are here - if possible don’t hire them!

STAGE 2 IS “MY LIFE SUCKS” The difference here is that these people hate their lives but they can see that others are doing better. They are uninvolved, indifferent, half-hearted, even antagonistic. You hear, “we tried that and it didn’t work” or “I can’t imagine that would do any good” and “Oh, not that again!” They don’t seek solutions See themselves as victims 25% of the work population is here

STAGE 3 IS “I’M GREAT AND YOU’RE NOT” 48% of working populations Lone warriors dedicated to personal domination and winning Very productive, try to do it all and don’t mentor others Don’t delegate well – have almost entirely dyadic relationships Complain about not enough time, talent surrounding them No one can do it better than they can Knowledge is power and they don’t share it as much as they should You hear the words “I”, “me”, “my” and almost never “we” Other employees recognize their talent and brilliance but find them egotistical, don’t like them much and don’t follow their lead

STAGE 4 IS “WE’RE GREAT” Become cohesive Share a common “enemy” like a competitor to wage war against, but this might also be a very challenging goal Collaborative – work in triads Language is positive, happy, focused, supportive Members speak well of each other, company, investors, clients, customers Studies show that people in stage four are 30% more productive 22% of work populations are at this level

STAGE 5 IS LIFE IS GREAT Only 2% of the working population reside here Innocent wonderment Don’t need a common enemy Believe in infinite potential They are “going to make history” Aspire to making momentous impact on industry or the world at large. Language is all positive. It is always “we”

YOUR ROLE AS LEADER First identify where they are personally and as a group Model stage four+ behavior Recognize that the smaller the group the more fragile its culture Understand that great cultures are based on core values and relationships. Discuss or uncover your core values Create nurturing relationships Listen to their language, isn’t all verbal, may be e-mails, jokes, screen savers, décor…

YOUR ROLE AS LEADER Help them to understand stages but be very careful of labels. Western culture specifically grooms each of us to be a fabulous THREE. Have lots of conversations. Change their socialization patterns. Sell them on the idea of ascending to the next level (can only move one at a time). Model, expose and coach. They need to have, what Logan calls an “epiphany”. The world will need to occur to them differently. Help them to get “unstuck”. Individuals can move both up and down a stage.

SIGNS OF SUCCESS Language will change. “My life sucks” may simply become “I’m great” or the word “I” will be replaced by more “we” You will notice more collaboration. Greater appreciation for each other. Happier, friendlier, less stressful, more joyous environment As much as 30% more productivity in stage 4 and healthier People will love coming to work