By Mark Jones, CEO ImpactInstitute
I’ve just had the remarkable experience of visiting New Delhi – host of this year’s G20 meeting.
I was there to attend the annual PROI Worldwide Summit, an extraordinary gathering of business owners and leaders from around 50 of the world’s largest network of independent PR and communications agencies (the G50!).
In total, our agencies generate more than USD$1 billion in revenue across the globe. But it’s not the money that keeps us together.
PROI is a rare United Nations-style tribe of nations, cultures, genders, ages, and belief systems. It’s held together by a golden thread: a passion for using our collective communications, marketing, and leadership skills to help clients grow, change, and do good things in the world.
There’s nothing like being among friends who get you. I’ll never forget the story of one agency boss who stood up to share an unexpected tale. Despite all efforts, he and the team utterly failed to help a client reform its rapidly souring global reputation. Sound advice isn’t always welcome!
The experience got me thinking. We all experience the benefits of tribes – local communities, work, friends, political parties, industries and membership organisations. Sometimes we’re conscious of the fact it’s a “tribe,” but I suspect most of the time we’re not.
Fostering your tribe
The bottom line is as leaders, marketers and communications professionals, we must help employees navigate the complex intersection of personal and professional tribes. But how?
Three things stood out when I reviewed research from six different psychology journals:
1. Build strong relationships based on trust and respect: A 2011 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that social support and mutual respect are the key components of effective work relationships, which in turn fostered job satisfaction and performance.
2. Actively encourage diversity and inclusion: A meta-analysis on the benefits of workplace diversity, published in 2015 by the Journal of Business and Psychology, found that diverse work teams are more creative, innovative and better decision makers than homogenous teams.
3. Establish clear goals and values: A study by the Journal of Organizational Behavior in 2014 found goal clarity directly improved job satisfaction and performance. Likewise, an earlier study from the Journal of Applied Psychology (2003) concluded establishing clear values and promoting congruence between those values and the work done was essential for employee wellbeing.
The benefits include better employee job satisfaction, wellbeing, productivity, performance, and decision-making – all familiar ideas.
The challenge, from experience, is these ideas are hard work. Fostering a healthy tribe in any context takes sustained commitment, resources, and strong leadership. Happily, I’ve seen all these elements in play at PROI, and here at ImpactInstitute.
But more broadly, it’s not hard to see evidence in society and the media where conflict and stress dominate tribal narratives.
Taking action
That’s one reason we’re fostering a new tribe of corporate, government, and social sector leaders at Social Impact Summit, to be held 3-4 July at UTS Aerial in Sydney.
I can’t wait to hear Hugh McKay AO kick it off by unpacking his book, The Kindness Revolution. When we think about creating healthy tribes and flourishing communities, Hugh is on point – kindness stands out like a beacon.
Importantly, that’s not because it feels nice. Think about kindness as a foundation for relationships, trust, diversity, and shared purpose. It’s an attitude that’s grounded in consideration of the other – which, coincidently, is a defining aspect of traditional Indian culture.
It must be said that no country, tribe, or community is perfect. But change begins when we look at familiar things from a different perspective. How healthy are your tribes?
Ready to increase your social impact?
At ImpactInstitute, we partner with clients to support, resource and enable their impact journey. Contact us if you’d like to discuss how your organisation can become impact-driven.