Leadership: overcoming those primitive instincts

Published: 2010-11-19   There are 4 comments ... please add yours below

As a leader, how would you feel about your next promotion being decided not by the CEO but by the people you’d be appointed to lead. A recent book and related New Scientist article tell us that ancient tribes chose their leaders on the basis of known capability. And, “other species, from fish to birds to chimpanzees” still do something similar, but simpler. However, from my experience, today’s corporate world is really much the same. Not in terms of employees appointing their leaders, but whether people commit (or not), then follow and give of their best. In short, it may have once been overt “democracy”; but today it’s covert. So, here are four things you can do (tapping into subconscious tribalism) so people will commit – and make you successful.

1. Share or delegate leadership when others have better skills or experience. This was common in hunter-gatherer societies, where leadership was more fluid than we're used to. But wise leaders do this naturally. The self-confident leader willingly empowers others.
2. Seek and support diversity. In primitive societies, social groups were small (often extended families) - unlike today's large corporations. Avoid, therefore, subconscious tribalism that narrows the problem-solving capability and adaptability needed in a modern organisation. Things like selecting (as we often still do) tall people over short ones, men over women, square-jawed men over round-faced ones, and those-like-us over those, who are different. However, from my experience, the tribal preference for toughness still has its place - if tempered with fairness and compassion.
3. Organise people into smaller teams. Groups that approximate hunting parties. We feel warmer affinity in such situations and the local-level leader is more likely to have relevant hands-on knowledge and skills - and, hence credibility. This is particularly important for leaders in high-tech and professional fields.
4. Develop a personal Leadership Action Plan. So your actions respond specifically to the concerns of your own people. They will align and commit faster and more strongly if you understand and address the local ambiguities and challenges. Corporate vision and high-level goals are important. But so are the same for your own team and its tribal members, whether they are pursuing sales, better IT or other wild beasts of the commercial savannah.

In developing my V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership® action-planning tool, my aim has been to make it relevant to leaders at any level: whether you are the corporate shaman or the head of the stone-axe-manufacturing division. Whether you're in the C-suite or on the front line, your people need leadership actions that are relevant to their specific needs and challenges. That hasn't changed and won't any time soon.

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®