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O P I N I O N
Office tribalism
Tribes provide compelling places for support, validation, and direction, but tribalism cannot be allowed to thwart a firm’s success.
I chose psychology as a major in college because I thought it would help me understand the confusing world of human behavior and, to be honest, myself. What I failed to realize was that before studying the cool stuff like schizophrenia, multiple personalities, and manic depression, I first had to spend endless hours in laboratories observing rats and tachistoscopes. To alleviate the boredom of lab life, I added a major in cultural anthropology. Little did I realize its eventual relevance to decoding the modern business world.
Julie Benezet GUEST SPEAKER
with a professional services firm. The firm had two offices, several practice groups, and many men and women professionals. While relations among the professionals were usually cordial, the cordiality had broken down, and business was suffering. In “Tribes operate as communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, and a common culture.”
Anthropology introduced me to the world of tribes. I studied a wide diversity of them, including the Arapesh in Samoa, the Babemba in Africa, and the street corner life of Tally’s Corner in Washington, D.C. Tribes operate as communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, and a common culture. They bind people together based on perceived common traits and a deep loyalty that can favor tribal affinity over questioning group assumptions. TRIBALISM IN TODAY’S BUSINESS LIFE. Tribalism is much in the news these days, appearing in politics and business. I recently encountered it when working
See JULIE BENEZET, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER May 14, 2018, ISSUE 1248
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