Tribalism is a word being tossed around a lot these days. It is defined as “the behavior and attitudes that stem from strong loyalty to one’s own tribe or social group.” Many pundits contend that in American politics, tribalism for parties or specific politicians is causing people to blindly follow with no regard for the truth, values, or their own hypocrisies. No political side or business industry is immune, especially the building supply industry, and it’s causing chaos.
Every company is its own tribe with a big chief who mandates the culture, values, and direction of the organization. The building supply industry is particularly vulnerable to corporate tribalism because of the numerous scopes, companies, people, and components required to complete a construction project, from ditch-diggers to engineers, and nails to expensive doors. The industry’s supply chain demands order and direction to be successful. The problem occurs when the big chief leading the tribe is misguided, or worse, out for himself.
When the big chief squashes all criticism and honest comments about his new ideas, bad decisions are made and implemented. About 10 years ago, a national company came out of nowhere, backed by significant Wall Street money. During a Florida Building Materials Association meeting in Orlando, one of this company’s top executives arrogantly told a group of independent dealers that his company was developing a computerized delivery system that would finally create real efficiencies in contractor deliveries and would scale millions of dollars in expenses out of the supply chain. Its computer logistics system was going to be the Holy Grail of the supply chain and this executive essentially warned the independent dealers that they would not be able to compete and should just give up.
I snickered, thinking, “How can you make a process efficient when your primary customer is inefficient?” Ten years later, the Wall Street company lost about a billion dollars, the company was gone, and its computer system was scrapped.
The worst, and most common, big chiefs lead with trust-and-follow tribes. They lather up their employees with promises of promotions, riches, and success. How many billions in wealth have been lost in the stock market by employees who trusted and followed flawed leaders? Can you imagine how many careers were squandered, based on some misplaced dream of an overzealous executive? The lumber and building supply industry graveyard is full of dead hopes and dreams of employees who blindly trusted.
Executives who won’t believe or admit they are wrong can easily become tangled up in the tribalism web. To create the best environment for your company and to be free of an echo chamber, there are three simple things you can do:
• Don’t dissuade or punish opinions that differ from yours—encourage them;
• Surround yourself with free thinkers from different backgrounds; and
• Be mindful of your words. Always tell it like it is—tell the truth.
In this era of hyperactive social media use, the words of leaders are read and heard in a more serious tone. Hyperbole, kidding, and callousness coming from the mouth or pen of the big chief are often misconstrued. Words and actions have consequences. As a leader, you are trying to build a team that works hard and challenges each member to find the best solutions. Leading a team is much harder than being a big chief, but if corporate tribalism isn’t stopped, it will continue to destroy companies.
