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Felix Lindekrantz
Jun 30 6:41am
Reply from Felix Lindekrantz
Group #2
In the text Jeff Weiner writes about the rise of tribalism, This means that people gravitate towards those who look and sound like them, fostering self-interest and narrow beliefs. This issue is worsened by technology, which connects us to those who reinforce our own worldviews, creating a cycle of division.
Examples
In society, tribes are present in many different forms. Political affiliation like Democrats, or Republicans, create distinct groups. Religious groups like Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists also form “tribes”. Cultural and ethnic groups further show these divisions. even social and economic classes, and groups like environmentalists, feminists, and LGBTQ+ communities, represent modern tribes.
You can even find tribes in organizations. Tribalism can occur through departmental divisions like Marketing, Sales, HR, IT, and Finance. What title you have can also create tribes of managers, executives, administrative staff, and technical staff. Work styles, like remote versus in-office workers, and generational groups like Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z, All things that essentially makes us different from one individual will also make us similar to another and when people that are similar in some way gets drawn together that creates these tribes.
Barriers to Understanding Other Tribes
To understand other tribes there are many barriers one has to overcome. These barriers can be, cultural misunderstandings, prejudices, and stereotypes that prevent open-minded interactions. Language barriers and socio-economic differences are also big challenges. Within organizations many departments are working in isolation, and a lack of diversity training makes the employees unprepared to engage from broader perspectives that are needed to communicate with another tribe. Power dynamics and resistance to change are also big barriers that makes people not see thing from any other way than their way. People from one background may have different life experiences and perspectives, making it harder to find common ground This applies to socio economic ethnic or even academic background and all the barriers essentially are based in that people are different and that’s why we end up in these groups or tribes.
Breaking Free from Our Tribes
To “break free from our tribes” means to move beyond comfort zones and engage with people from different backgrounds and perspectives. This involves seeking to understand diversity, challenging biases, and fostering inclusive environments.
Some good ways to do this could be to:
Cultural Exchange Programs: These allow employees to experience different cultures through travel or activities. This is super important in todays society as businesses are so global so understanding the background of you colleagues even if the live on the opposite side of the world is super important. Cross-functional Teams: These teams encourage collaboration and understanding by bringing together members from different tribes. We did this in my intercultural communication class and the insight I gained from being paired with all these students from different backgrounds was amazing. Diversity and Inclusion Training: I think that it is important to keep trying to develop and train when it comes to diversity and inclusion as it develops cultural competence and addresses unconscious bias. I think the biggest thing is to implement the training in school early on so that students and kids can start to understand these concepts about tribes, or in group and out group which it actually is to not be perfect but to understand what to think about and understand what we need to think about in such situations.
Encouraging Empathy and Active Listening: Fostering a culture of understanding by promoting active listening.
I believe that once we understand the concepts of intercultural communication and how they affect us. And I say intercultural because all the concepts we learned there also apply to the smaller “cultural” groups in our everyday life. Once we understand the concepts then we can start to Implement them and they can significantly help dismantle the barriers of tribalism and build a more inclusive, collaborative, cohesive and equitable society.
Sources: Weiner, Jeff. “We’re also facing the rise of tribalism…”
Reply to post from Felix LindekrantzReply
please respond to this
the original Group #2 Discussion Topic:
Can We “Break Free from Our Tribes”? (LO 4.2, LO 4.3)
Jeff Weiner recently stated the following:
We’re also facing the rise of tribalism. It’s human nature to gravitate towards people that look and sound like we do. That sense of belonging helps keep us safe and feel protected. But there’s a dark downside. All these tribes spend too much time thinking about themselves, their own self-interests and their own belief models. Technology facilitates the divide by making it easier than ever to connect to those who reinforce our own worldview. It’s a vicious cycle: We don’t spend enough time thinking about other tribes, which drives us even further apart. But we can reverse these trends. By breaking free of our own tribes, even if only for a moment, and seeing things through the lens of people unlike ourselves, we can begin to close the gaps, whether they be socio-economic, racial, gender, political or otherwise.
Respond to the following:
What do you think are some examples of tribes in contemporary society and within organizations?
What are some barriers to understanding other tribes in society and in organizations?
What do you think it means to “break free from our tribes”? Provide specific ideas about how you can accomplish this.
#2 Option #2:
Ideas Holding color-brave conversations. Read the “Ideas in Action feature” about: Mellody Hobson in the “Capturing the Voice of Employees” section in this chapter. Respond to the following questions. (LO 4.1, LO 4.2, LO 4.3)
What do you think is meant by color-brave conversations?
What are the potential benefits and risks of conversations about race in the workplace?
How can a “yes” mentality lead to more inclusive communication? Explain several examples of how this might occur.