Hi all,
Its been an interesting although a rather short week and its Friday evening again already - well Saturday afternoon now when I have come back to my post!
Its the weekend, a time when families often get together and do their thing whatever that might be - walking, eating out, taking a drive, visiting National Trust houses, going to B&Q, doing the garden, going to the theatre or a concert, having Sunday tea in a country village somewhere - maybe extreme sports..... the leisure time they spend together.
Most of us gather together in our 'tribe' one way or another. And there are rules, some unspoken and others expressed in familiar and explicit agreement. And there is a shared language, stories told and retold and passed down the generations. Tribe appears to reinforce our personal and collective sense of identity,our sense of belonging - our inherent herd instinct.
Society organises itself necessarily into communities which function to protect the good of their whole, and we all belong to one tribe or another and usually several, whether its at work or at home. Its a complex web with many intersections. We rely on each other, share secrets, counsel each other - do the practical stuff of living.
The dictionary definition of tribe is
'a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognised leader.'
A tribe is almost always hierarchical in spite of many alternative experiments in living in a collective. In most cases in family, religious, political tribes everyone has a defined place, there is a pecking order and each usually performs a function complementary to the others which enables the whole. Some we are born into and some we choose.
Meredith Belbin came up with a theory of team roles which is used in many businesses and organisations as an explicit way of identifying what is needed in a team and many spend considerable amounts of money on team building exercises. http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8
Team or tribe is seen as critical to success.The tribe looks out for each other and will fiercely defend its members against attack from other tribes. However tribe also brings with it rituals, values, language and behaviours that maintain control of its members.If one of them breaks the rules then the punishment may be severe as we see in the problems that arise in forced marriage in some communities. If a young woman wants to marry for love she may be shipped off somewhere or worse still she may even be killed as she has brought shame to the tribe.
So as well as the benefits there are also the disadvantages that are capable of stifling the individual. The balance can be hard to achieve because its not easy to live outside tribe. Whilst the idea of living alone on a desert island might be attractive to some, most guests who toy with this on Desert Island Discs cannot contemplate surviving for very long!
Actors are serial tribe joiners - its a thing that comes with the job.Actors are generally freelancers and go from job to job as do directors and many others in the industry.Whilst not exclusive a specific set of skills are needed for this - resilience, self reliance and an ability to deal with rejection, not least because their product is themselves.
As a director I have employed countless actors, and when they come together they form an ensemble with a clear, time limited objective to get the show rehearsed and performed to an audience. The experience of doing this needs an ability to 'join', to immediately embrace the goals and values of the project or company even though we all know it will be short lived. This necessary impetus creates a sense of belonging and often intimacy because there is sharing and sometimes disclosure of personal experience in the creation of character. There can appear to be an intoxicating sense of falling in love - hence the term 'luvvies' often attributed to actors.
And its true in the intense and all consuming life of making a piece this can seem to be a reality. And then it ends with everyone promising to keep in touch, meet up, hugging each other and sometimes crying because this heightened experience is over. Its probably true of any group that goes on a mission together. But then everything changes, there is no reason to keep in touch, apart from occasional networking - of course in some cases real friendships are sustained. But mostly these actors go on to join another tribe if they are lucky enough to keep in work.
Why is this of any interest to me? Well I'm always interested in how individuals and groups function together and I spent nearly thirty years in tribe in my role as Artistic Director and CEO of Arc, indeed as a founder I played a senior role in shaping our tribe and we grew together as a strong team with shared values and goals. And then I decided it was time to test myself and go it alone as a freelancer through my new company Jasmine Street. And its been a fascinating time to be on the outside of a tribe you were part of for a generation - looking in. The functions and systems seem much clearer from the outside.
I have pitched myself into the same terrain as the actors I employ. Its a hardcore experience flying solo! I no longer belong to this tribe. And there is a huge and exciting freedom that comes with it - an adventure. I can explore new projects and relationships in territory that I could not have imagined in tribe. There is of course a downside when you have only yourself to depend on- its harder to delegate and call on the skills of others in areas in which you are less competent. And in spite of the desire to test myself I have also experienced grief at no longer belonging to my tribe. Its life changing - and the embracing of change is both exhilarating and terrifying!
When I stepped out of tribe to my surprise I met quite a few outliers, and that's been a revelation. Some of them have become friends.
'a person or thing situated away or detached from the main body or system'.
Its been an interesting although a rather short week and its Friday evening again already - well Saturday afternoon now when I have come back to my post!
Its the weekend, a time when families often get together and do their thing whatever that might be - walking, eating out, taking a drive, visiting National Trust houses, going to B&Q, doing the garden, going to the theatre or a concert, having Sunday tea in a country village somewhere - maybe extreme sports..... the leisure time they spend together. Most of us gather together in our 'tribe' one way or another. And there are rules, some unspoken and others expressed in familiar and explicit agreement. And there is a shared language, stories told and retold and passed down the generations. Tribe appears to reinforce our personal and collective sense of identity,our sense of belonging - our inherent herd instinct.
The dictionary definition of tribe is
'a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognised leader.'
A tribe is almost always hierarchical in spite of many alternative experiments in living in a collective. In most cases in family, religious, political tribes everyone has a defined place, there is a pecking order and each usually performs a function complementary to the others which enables the whole. Some we are born into and some we choose.
Meredith Belbin came up with a theory of team roles which is used in many businesses and organisations as an explicit way of identifying what is needed in a team and many spend considerable amounts of money on team building exercises. http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8
Team or tribe is seen as critical to success.The tribe looks out for each other and will fiercely defend its members against attack from other tribes. However tribe also brings with it rituals, values, language and behaviours that maintain control of its members.If one of them breaks the rules then the punishment may be severe as we see in the problems that arise in forced marriage in some communities. If a young woman wants to marry for love she may be shipped off somewhere or worse still she may even be killed as she has brought shame to the tribe.
So as well as the benefits there are also the disadvantages that are capable of stifling the individual. The balance can be hard to achieve because its not easy to live outside tribe. Whilst the idea of living alone on a desert island might be attractive to some, most guests who toy with this on Desert Island Discs cannot contemplate surviving for very long!
Actors are serial tribe joiners - its a thing that comes with the job.Actors are generally freelancers and go from job to job as do directors and many others in the industry.Whilst not exclusive a specific set of skills are needed for this - resilience, self reliance and an ability to deal with rejection, not least because their product is themselves. As a director I have employed countless actors, and when they come together they form an ensemble with a clear, time limited objective to get the show rehearsed and performed to an audience. The experience of doing this needs an ability to 'join', to immediately embrace the goals and values of the project or company even though we all know it will be short lived. This necessary impetus creates a sense of belonging and often intimacy because there is sharing and sometimes disclosure of personal experience in the creation of character. There can appear to be an intoxicating sense of falling in love - hence the term 'luvvies' often attributed to actors.
And its true in the intense and all consuming life of making a piece this can seem to be a reality. And then it ends with everyone promising to keep in touch, meet up, hugging each other and sometimes crying because this heightened experience is over. Its probably true of any group that goes on a mission together. But then everything changes, there is no reason to keep in touch, apart from occasional networking - of course in some cases real friendships are sustained. But mostly these actors go on to join another tribe if they are lucky enough to keep in work.
Why is this of any interest to me? Well I'm always interested in how individuals and groups function together and I spent nearly thirty years in tribe in my role as Artistic Director and CEO of Arc, indeed as a founder I played a senior role in shaping our tribe and we grew together as a strong team with shared values and goals. And then I decided it was time to test myself and go it alone as a freelancer through my new company Jasmine Street. And its been a fascinating time to be on the outside of a tribe you were part of for a generation - looking in. The functions and systems seem much clearer from the outside.
When I stepped out of tribe to my surprise I met quite a few outliers, and that's been a revelation. Some of them have become friends.
For the record the dictionary definition of outlier is
'a person or thing situated away or detached from the main body or system'.
The writer Malcolm Gladwell wrote a whole book about these, funnily enough called Outliers!
Over the period of leaving tribe and spending time with outliers I have learned so much, about survival, testing and the benefits and costs that come with both. In my very brief experience its definitely tougher on the outside of tribe, equally it offers an opportunity to grow in new ways. I am enjoying spending time in other tribes - and working with some of them too.I am also indebted to the good outlier role models I have met.
I've got my rucksack on my back and I'm heading out alone. I still need and want to be part of a professional tribe but quite like the idea of dipping in and out of new ones. Not sure yet what that will be like - but enjoying the glimpses!
I read it a few years ago and found it a very interesting read. On the outside of tribe live the outliers some might call them mavericks - they break the norm, they scout, follow their noses,pick up on random opportunities, follow up on seemingly irrelevant things, go their own way. Of course they need good friends, dependable colleagues, but they are often loners too. They are the ones who travel alone, sail solo round the world - who might well survive on a desert island at least if it was time limited because from time to time they too need to be in community.The difference is that they dip in and out, choosing when to join the rituals and when to leave. Most tribes will welcome the outliers for a time, they are the mavericks who bring new things but to whom being part of one tribe is for the most part unappealing. They treasure their time on their own more than most.
Over the period of leaving tribe and spending time with outliers I have learned so much, about survival, testing and the benefits and costs that come with both. In my very brief experience its definitely tougher on the outside of tribe, equally it offers an opportunity to grow in new ways. I am enjoying spending time in other tribes - and working with some of them too.I am also indebted to the good outlier role models I have met.I've got my rucksack on my back and I'm heading out alone. I still need and want to be part of a professional tribe but quite like the idea of dipping in and out of new ones. Not sure yet what that will be like - but enjoying the glimpses!
Long one this time and if you have managed to get to the end - well done and thank you!
1 comment:
Feels quite exhausting! I think there are very few true outliers. I dont know any; only people who prefer to live alone, don't mean they don't have one, two or even three different tribal circles. Now that feels true for me and much less exhausting than been either IN or OUT. Harmony is just BEING wherever in the moment.
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