Tribalism and the Agreement Paradox

Human beings are inherently tribal. This predisposition towards tribalism stems from the very makeup of our cognition, our brains’ way of solving problems and falling back on solutions. The most functional systems and organizations are those that use this function of the subconscious against itself, redefining the way we as individuals conceptualize our tribe.

Let’s back up for a second.

I recently started a new job as a Videographer for VirtuSense. A big thing I was looking for in a new position (besides the obvious “wish-list” of more opportunities for growth, shorter commute, higher salary, etc.) was a company that had a clear mission and a vision for how why they want to impact the world.

This is something I’ve definitely found at VirtuSense. We’re a tech startup with a very clear mission and value proposition: We want to help people to have more control over their health, and we use AI technology to do that.

We have a clear mission (creating clinical insight for people and providers regardless of time, place, or circumstances) a vision for getting there (our AI technology) and we can see the impact we have as we use technology to slowly turn a part of medicine that has been largely reactive up to this point into one that’s extremely proactive.

It’s not just me desiring to work for a company with a purpose- Studies have found Millennials care a lot more than previous generations about whether their working for a company that they believe actually affects the world positively. The cause of this mindset shift is highly debated- Is it a luxury that wasn’t as widely available to previous generations? Is it a strange side-effect from the information age and the era of social media? Are Millennials “better people” or do they just have a desire to be seen that way? I can’t answer for the entirety of a generation (and besides, I’m technically Generation Z) but I do know why it’s important to me, and the answer is very simple:

It’s efficient.

A company having a clear mission and/or vision is the most efficient way to hire a diverse group of passionate people that can be comfortable with their differences.

Let’s talk about neuroscience

The two hemispheres of our brain serve different functions on a cognitive level. Our left brain is what we use most of the time- this is where we store things that have worked before, solutions we’ve already come up with and applied; basically, it’s our cognitive belt where we keep our “tried and true” toolkit. Our right brain is activated when when our normal solutions (the left brain) have failed. We use this hemisphere to come up with new ideas and new solutions or to understand new situations.

This is where tribalism comes in. Because the left brain is our default, the type of people we’re accustomed to hanging around is what our brain sees as the norm, the “best solution”. Because it’s often uncomfortable to use our right brain, as it deals with the scary unknown, we try and stay with “our people”, our tribe, and not actively stray outside our comfort zone.

At the same time, the most healthy way to grow as a human is to use your right brain pretty regularly. By dealing with new problems, you build new neural pathways, you collect more tools and solutions to use in the future, and you can relate to more people who think differently- thus growing the potential fields of what your tribe can be. This is where common adage “diversity is our strength” comes from- by healthily working with others who have different experiences than your own, have a different perspective on the world, tackle problems in a different way, the collective wisdom, knowledge, and power of the group becomes larger.

The good news is that what qualifies as a tribe to your brain is amazingly flexible. We’ve come a long way with our modern civilization, and using exclusively blood, skin color, or place of origin to define tribe members is significantly more rare than it used to be. But our brain still has to use its tribe designation in order to stay sane- we need some way of easily distinguishing right and wrong or distinguishing friend from potential enemy. This is how societies, organizations, and businesses function without falling into chaos.

Here’s an example: think about your workplace in an abstract sense. You undoubtedly have a list of criteria that someone has to follow to be a healthy member of your workplace. Maybe it’s dress code, a way they act, values they uphold, a certain threshold of quality or even methodology of work. This is commonly called a company culture, but in a more abstract sense it’s how you know who fits into the tribe of your company- and who needs to be banished from it.

The problem with companies defining what is required of tribe members is that it has to have a certain level of specificity (in order to maintain cohesion and prevent sub tribes from developing within your workplace, which could lead to tribal warfare within the company), but if it’s too specific it becomes difficult to adapt and innovate- you end up with a bunch of worker drones toeing the company line and an inability to hire people that bring a fresh perspective of how to grow the company.

This is what I call the Agreement Paradox– you need your workers and new hires to all agree on a certain level, so they can work as a cohesive unit and see each other as friends and co-conspirators within the same tribe, but these necessary agreements must be kept at a minimum so that your workers are free to bring up their own ideas and challenge the status quo, thus optimizing and fully utilizing the collective intelligence of your workforce, which leads to stronger and faster growth.

A lot of companies build this company tribe off of general values like “work ethic”, “responsibility”, and “integrity” and while this can work in the short term, the non-specificity of these can lead to a number of problems in the long run- like the creation of a dual company culture. One version that’s touted on the website and by your HR department to potential hires, and one that has been built up by the collective subconscious of your organization- a culture filled with arbitrary unwritten rules and tribal rituals that new hires will more than likely inadvertently violate, leading to undeserved ostracization, higher turnover rates, a decrease of innovative and new ideas from your staff, and a slow and painful stagnation of growth.

This is why I want to work for a company with a clear mission and vision. This is a highly superior way of building a company tribe; as long as we all trust each other to be working towards this same common goal, everyone is free to be themselves and bring up whatever odd ideas they come up with to the table. Nothing has to be judged based upon personal interpretations of vague “company values” or built up subconscious prejudices of what an employee of the company is supposed to look like.

This is why I’ve enjoyed working at VirtuSense so much, even in my short time here. I know as long as my ideas contribute towards our mission, it doesn’t matter how different, unconventional, or even stupid the idea might be.

I know we’re all on the same team.