Series Introduction

I have been a huge fan of Seth Godin’s Tribes since I picked it up in my local bookstore.  The book is short and to the point with its message: the world needs everyone to be a leader.  Although the book goes into detail about the attributes of a tribe leader, it does not contain instructions for gathering a tribe or leading.  Each tribe is different; therefore, there is not a universal way to gather and lead.

To get us on the same page, we will use Godin’s definition of tribe throughout this series.  He defines tribe as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.” (pg. 1)

As Godin points out, there are characteristics and qualities that each tribe shares.  I have defined these qualities as knowing, believing, building, persevering, and growing.  I will be expanding on each of the six attributes as the series progresses.  Also, I highly recommend reading Tribes when you have the time.  It is a short but powerful read that has the ability to revolutionize your business and life.  (Feel free to read my review of the book.)

The Basics of Knowing

The first step in growing your tribe is to know yourself, your potential tribe, and the tribe’s goals.  Without a firm grasp on these three things, your leadership and your tribe will most likely be unsuccessful.  However, if you have a complete understanding of each area, you will have a solid foundation for change and a productive tribe.

Know Yourself

As you begin to lead, you need the ability to ask yourself the tough questions and to engage with honest answers.  How did you lead in the past?  Was it successful?  What critiques did you received about your leadership?  All of these questions are great starting points in order to grasp your motivation.  Be sure to ask questions that begin with “What” and “How.”  When you begin to ask questions that start with “Who” and “Why,” you begin to go down the wrong lines of questioning and can get into some dangerous territory. (Miller, 2004)

After you have answered the tough questions, see if your answers align with the qualities of a leader.  Do you display humility instead of selfishness?  Are you generous?  Do you take advantage of the opportunities given to you?  Are you able to stand up for your beliefs and ideas?  If you answered “no” to any of the questions above, hope is not lost.  Take the time to reassess your priorities, implement changes to align with positive leadership qualities, and then ask the tough questions again.

Here are a few quotes from Tribes regarding the various leadership qualities noted above…

“Generous and authentic leadership will always defeat the selfish efforts of someone doing it just because she can.” (pg. 7)

“The question isn’t, Is it possible for me to do that?  Now, the questions is, Will I choose to do it?” (pg. 8 )

Know Your Potential Tribe

Once you have taken part in some self-reflection, it’s time to get to know your potential followers.  The first step in this process is realizing that everyone wants to be part of a group.  In Tribes, Godin states, “Human beings can’t help it: we need to belong.  One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute (and to take from) a group of like-minded people.” (pg. 3)  In a nutshell, if you become a leader, there is a good chance that you will have people willing to follow you.

It is important that you stay away from the misconception that every person will follow your lead.  It is not practical to think everyone will be jumping at the opportunity to join your tribe.  Not everyone shares the same traits or preferences.  Sally, the office accountant, probably doesn’t like the same type of music as your neighbor’s son, James.  However, it is critical to realize that there are people who will serve as your tribe.  You just need to reach them, engage them, and let them know that they belong to a group consisting of people with similar interests.

Also, knowing your tribe and building your tribe are two different steps that require different resources.  We will learn about building your tribe in part three.

Know What Your Tribe Will Accomplish

If you take a look at the heading for this section, you will notice that I did not state, “Knowing Your Goals.”  Why not?  Because you are different than your tribe.

When you are leading a tribe, there is no time for a personal agenda.  Your goals go out the window and the goals of the tribe come into view.  When Godin recalls a time earlier in his life, he notes, “Everything I did was for us, not for me.” (pg. 30, emphasis Godin.)  It is paramount to take an attitude of humility when leading a tribe.  If you don’t, no one will want to follow you.

Once you have realized that your goals do not exist and that the tribe functions for the betterment of the tribe, begin to understand what the tribe can accomplish.  Dream big.  Anything can happen when a tribe is inspired.

A few guiding questions might be…

• What are some goals for the tribe?
• How will the tribe communicate?
• What objectives need to be met in order for the tribe to meet its goals?
• How will the tribe begin to organize itself?

These questions may be tough for you to answer at this moment but that is a good thing.  These questions aren’t about you; they are about your tribe.

After knowing yourself, your potential tribe, and the goals of your tribe, you will have a solid foundation for the growth of your tribe.  Without this foundation, your tribe ventures into dangerous territory.  Remember, an unmovable foundation can be the beginning of great things.

.

Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

Photo by dbking

You aren’t alone.  Maintaining a fresh and updated social network is hard, even for people who live and breathe social media.  It’s tough to stay connected with your current friends or followers and still branch out to meet new people.

Even though it’s a tough task to conquer, there are a few ways you can expand your network with little to no effort.  One of the most efficient ways that I have found to branch out to others is through LinkedIn Groups.

LinkedIn Groups have a simple concept – collaboration and networking – and it is easy to join a group and interact with other group members.  There is a LinkedIn Group for nearly every subject or hobby so you won’t need to dig deep to find a group that fits your needs or expertise.  Once you are approved for a group, you have free reign to respond and create various topics and threads.  Easy, huh?

Simple Math

I have always thought that groups on social networking sites were for the birds.  How can they help me connect with others?  What point do they serve?  Well, the math for creating successful networking is simple…

Easy-to-use Platform + Common Interest + Conversation = Consistent Networking

LinkedIn Groups follows this basic line of thinking.

Easy-to-use Platform

Websites such as Facebook and Greenlight Community are great websites.  They serve a purpose and connect people together.  However, they do not have easy-to-use group functionality.  In fact, they are tough to manage and maintain.

On the flip side, LinkedIn Groups is a platform that is designed for efficiency and ease.  As I stated earlier, LinkedIn Groups function through conversations, or threads, which have been started by group members or the group admin.  Group members are not forced to talk about a certain topic or thread.  In fact, you can talk about whatever you’d like in relation to the topic of your group.

Common Interest

There is rarely downtime in a LinkedIn Group.  If a member is not starting a new thread, a current topic is being discussed.  The reason why there is no downtime is because everyone has a shared interest.  Without a shared interest, group members would be fishing for topics of conversation.  However, since each member knows that everyone has a common interest, there is a starting point for conversation.

Conversation

The conversation that takes place on some group websites is forced.  Topics of conversation are decided by the admin, new topics are not posted regularly, and no one thoroughly exhausts a topic.  LinkedIn Groups are different.

In LinkedIn Groups, a user can decide if they’d like to respond to a created topic or they can create their own.  This choice empowers the group member.  With this sense of empowerment, a group member remains dedicated to the conversation and routinely follows up with the other topic participants.

Consistent Networking

All of the components described in this article add up to create consistent networking.  With a platform that is easily managed, a common interest, and limitless conversation topics, LinkedIn Groups is a place that can help you grow and develop your network into more than you hoped.

Remember, when it comes down to the 11^th hour, it isn’t what you know.  Instead, it’s whom you know.  If you regularly manage and create connections via LinkedIn Groups, you will have a network that supports you.  Who doesn’t want that kind of network?

.

Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by Thomas Hawk

Written By: Chris Brogan

This post is somewhat inspired by a thought Jeff Pulver tossed out as an aside at his Social Media Jungle prototype in Long Island a few weeks ago. Hat tip to you, Jeff.

Jeff Pulver said this: “We’re making our own dial tone.” In such a typical Jeff Pulver way, he tossed out a little idea that had been bouncing around his head, but that he hasn’t rolled into any particular context yet, so I’m going to run with it. I’ve got an idea that came to me tonight about Twitter (amongst other social networks), and I’m going to share it with you: take that dial tone idea and build your own network. We’re sitting on something because we’re still in the “gee whiz” mode. Let me explain.

Where We Falter – Solo Efforts Versus Scale

I asked Twitter tonight about what people were working on for goals. Several people had remarkably similar goals, including, sadly, the fact that several of them were looking for work. 2008 is the easy year compared to what 2009 is going to be. I saw the same thing passing through everyone’s stream, and I saw connectivity that would be missed. And that’s when it stuck me. I tweeted this:

Do you realize there are thousands of great minds all plugged into the same conversation who could help each other with your goals? Activate

The trick is this- don’t make me or anyone the hub. Lead. Find your groups. Reach out. Set group goals. Execute. Move to a new group. Fluid.

You see, you’re all out there. You’ve got goals, you’ve got needs, you’ve got sources of information, and you have the tools to connect it all. You’ve got every piece of a network except for the directors.

So, what if you had the templates to building a small but powerful network? Here’s my starting ideas on this. I’ll talk in somewhat technical terms, but I promise this has everything to do with the human elements. I hope it sparks something in you. More so, I hope you run with it.

Build a Small Powerful Network

1. First, think about your goals in 2009. Build the network with two purposes on mind: how you can achieve your goals, and how you can help others achieve theirs.
2. You need authentication in a network. Start with a blog as a home base. Make it such that your about page tells people lots about you.
3. It doesn’t hurt to have a picture of YOU on the blog, as this will deal with building a trusted network.
4. Start a Google Doc spreadsheet with the following fields: name, twitter ID, cell, capabilities, notes. Think of this as your routing table, your database of records of where resources reside.
5. Ask some probing questions on Twitter. If no one responds, ask again. See if there’s interest out there. What you’re doing at this point is sending out a signal that you’re looking for resources. (Like a computer, only you’re human.)
6. Use Twitter Search to find some like-minded people. Work at this. Try all different kinds of queries until you find the right response.
7. Send @ messages to these types of people. Ask them if they want to talk about collaborating.
8. Invite them to your document, if you want. Let them share the resources. Get them into the mix.
9. From here, collaborate. Figure out how you can helpful. Understand each other’s needs, and share the resources. Try to build your goals and businesses together.

It’s not exactly simple. But to me, it’s all there. You build the mechanisms (very simple ones), and you go after the goals together. You can feed it. You can encourage the edge points of the network (the other people) to be their own hub. You can build out more capabilities.

Scribbles from The Sidebar

What if you thought of these small networks in terms of games? Games have goals. They have a point. What if you set goals and points to these networks? What if you went at this network-building and empowerment as something very active, instead of using tools like Twitter as another place to chat?

In 2009, you need your networks. It is not a solo act. I need mine, too. And I plan to do exactly what I’ve laid out here.

Does it make sense? Can you see this as a template for how you might start getting your goals met for 2009? Are you planning to ally and make new relationships? What do you think?

Chris Brogan is a ten year veteran of using social media and technology to build digital relationships for businesses, organizations, and individuals. Chris speaks, blogs, writes articles, and makes media of all kinds at [chrisbrogan.com], a blog in the top 20 of the Advertising Age Power150, and in the top 100 on Technorati.

This post was originally published on [Chrisbrogan.com] and is republished with permission.

Photo credit, Jared