So it is finally time to return to Great Boss, Dead Boss and look at how tribalism affects organizations and our behavior and relationships within the organization. Ray Immelman has four simple measures he uses to create a framework of two 2x2 matrices. The first is based on what he calls security - our personal individual security, as well as the security of our tribe(s) (or organizations or affiliations). Where does your organization fit on this matrix? How secure do the individuals feel? How secure is your organization? Remember its perception rather than reality that matters. If your only 2 months from bankruptcy but no one really knows, or cares because they feel the business is "safe as houses" then you are in the TS+ category, even though the reality is TS-.

The second set of measures involve what Immelman calls "value". Think of it like self-esteem and tribal-esteem. Where does your organization lie on this matrix? Are individuals arrogant? Are they proud? Are they genuinely better than the competition? If so then you organization is an IV+ organization. What about the tribal esteem? How strong is your brand? Does everyone in your metropolitan area envy your workforce? Are you a destination employer? If so, then you are in the TV+ category.

So consider your own organization - your own tribe - against these measures. Now look at the behavior described in the boxes. Does it feel real to you? Does it reflect back your own brutal reality? or not? Please comment...

I'll be looking more at how we can use these matrices in software engineering and the agile community in future posts.