The Organizational

Culture of McCalls
Recommendations for Tribal Leadership
─

Cindy Shi
MCAD MASD Consulting
Creative Leadership Spring 2021
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Foreword
My former company, Aplat, is a small business composed of five people, all of whom
were not full time employees. While the frameworks for upgrading tribal culture would
be beneficial for this team, the size of its operation may restrict a successful case study
of full scale. I will be applying the concepts covered within Tribal Leadership to a larger
company I worked for, McCalls Catering, whose president is Lucas Schoemaker.

Introduction
McCalls Catering holds a prestigious reputation in the events industry in San
Francisco, and across the wider Bay Area. Through client testimonials, it is evident
how McCalls has become so acclaimed in being the first name that comes to mind
when planning any event. Whether it is a wedding, corporate luncheon, or gala,
McCalls’ final delivery of your clients’ visions is executed with attention to detail and
assurance of a quality experience. While McCalls has a high number of returning
clients, the high turnover rate of employees is a signal that your organization may
be stuck in one of the lower stages of tribal culture.

Each organization is a tribe, and as a tribe grows larger than 150 people, it will
naturally split into multiple tribes. McCalls’ structure already resembles such, each
of your departments have their own defined way of functioning: leadership,
operations, sales, design, and culinary - and even within those teams are
compositions of multiple tribes. Each tribe within McCalls has a culture that will
determine its productivity, and it is vital to identify the stages of these cultures.

Tribal Leadership
Tribal Leadership, an analysis of organizational culture written by Dave Logan, John
King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, is a guide for leaders to find leverage points in each
of these cultures to bring the organization to its optimal potential. Knowing how to
navigate the ascension through these cultural stages will result in a healthier
environment for your employees, leading to higher employee satisfaction,
increased levels of productivity, and expansion of market opportunities. Acting as
an effective tribal leader for your organization will be pivotal to the process of
uplifting members of your tribe. Tribes are the foundation, and tribal leadership is
the process.
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The Five Stages of Tribal Culture

The foundation for tribal leadership is the understanding that members of your
organization will gravitate towards other like-minded individuals, forming a tribe
over that way of thinking. Tracking the themes embedded in your employee’s
language and behaviors will help you identify what stage of tribal culture they are
currently in, so that you can help promote them into the next stage. There are five
stages of tribal culture. As the leader, you will need to know how to communicate at
all five stages of tribal culture, so that you can reach all the people within your
organization. It is important to note that each individual can only hear the language
one stage above and below the level they are at. Mastering the language themes of
all stages will help you nudge people into the next level.

I. Stage 1 - “Life Sucks”

The language of Stage 1 is summarized with “life sucks”. People in Stage 1 do not
move through life believing there is significance in values or morality, because to
them, life is not fair, so apathy becomes the only resolution. This stage tends to
produce people who systematically separate themselves from relationships with
individuals who are in stages above them, or other functional tribes. The habits
commonly observed in this stage withhold individuals from integrating with other
dynamic parts of society.

The authors of Tribal Leadership use the anecdote of two people on different sides
of a filtered spotlight: it is like “shining a red light into a green filter. No matter how
much a person says it is really red, it still looks green to the person on the other
side of the lense” (Logan et al, Ch 3, 5:00-5:10). The reality for the person on the
other side is that the light is green, life does suck.

It is likely that most working professionals do not identify with this tribe, however, it
is important to recognize that this stage exists in all realms of society. A sense of
community is a massive factor in all individuals’ well-being, and without these
important connections, it can be difficult to make progress to rise to the next level
of culture. Leaders must help individuals in Stage 1 see the filter on the light, by
expanding their awareness that other people’s lives may not “suck”, demonstrating
a possibility that their life may improve, and encouraging them to abandon the
language of Stage 1. Rather than a general sense of helplessness. they may start to
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blame their inability to feel otherwise on existing systems, their bosses, or factors
that are perceived to be outside of their control. This is actually a sign of progress
towards Stage 2, which is a necessary zone to pass through.

Upon surveying members in all McCalls departments, it appears that there are a
number of younger temporary staff members on the service team (commonly
shorthanded by other employees as “temps”) that fall into this tribe. Many of these
individuals are college students, often overwhelmed by other life responsibilities,
and are only here to make some money and get out. Their characteristics are
hallmarked by the aforementioned apathetic language, and often come into work
with hostility and despair. These individuals are contracted out to McCalls by
staffing agencies, often with minimal experience in fine dining. This means that
they do not work consistently for the same organizations, and do not have rapport
with any full time McCalls staff members, exacerbating their disconnection with
their performance.

Because of the routined nature of event production, little to no time at all is

dedicated to the proper on-boarding of these temporary employees. Working for
various catering companies inconsistently means they must code-switch between
each organization’s culture and work style. It is important to extend empathy to
their experience - to expect your contractors to automatically adopt your ways of
operation can further reinforce their apathetic attitude. Stage 1 employees have
been documented to exhibit problematic behaviors like stealing food or alcohol,
drinking on the job, or making decisions without a fear of consequences.

At every event, team leaders should spend adequate time training newly contracted
employees, even contractors who have only worked with McCalls once or twice
before to make sure they are aware of the expectations and work flow of your
organization. Leaders should also encourage Stage 1 members to ask questions as
they come up, and to go where the action is.

II. Stage 2 - “My Life Sucks”

The second stage of tribal culture is distinct from Stage 1 mainly in that the
language evolves from “life sucks” to “my life sucks”, which the authors recognize as
a “quantum difference” (Logan et al, Ch 2, 14:33). Individuals in Stage 2 are
characterized as “passively antagonistic”, and often feel disconnected from the
organization, or that their opinions are not valued. They have disengaged from any
active participation in the company because they do not see the point, nothing is
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going to change. It is also characteristic for individuals in Stage 2 to list off

problems, avoid accountability, yet deny all possible solutions.

Leaders must be cautious of the influence of this apathy. It can be easy for other
members, as well as leaders themselves, to get pulled into the cycle of complaint
generation. As leaders often attempt to resolve these endless complaints, they can
become weary and eventually give up.

What is more effective is to identify individuals within Stage 2 that have a desire for
things to be different, and work with them one-on-one. The individual focus will
reinforce their belief in their own skills, highlight their potential for growth into
leadership, and provide direction for enhancing their performance. As you start this
process, “you will be their lifeline into Stage 3, that is [they] are great because you
are mentoring [them]” (Logan et al, Ch 5, 24:00-24:06). It is essential to
communicate using the language of the stage directly above - the “I’m great”
mantra - without skipping ahead to higher stages of tribal culture. Simultaneously,
it is equally important to communicate the authenticity of your intention for their
growth, and build trust in your relationship and confidence in their abilities.

Furthermore, people in Stage 2 mostly have minor friendships with others in the
tribe and interactions that serve purely as an informational exchange. You should
encourage them to establish more friendships with others, otherwise known as
dyadic relationships, especially with other Stage 3 members who are eager to
mentor (because they think they are great).

With frequent affirmations of their competence, strengths, and positive impacts,

the individual will start to display signs of transformation into Stage 3, which can
include name dropping, bragging about their accomplishments, or identifying the
shortcomings of others. This may not sound ideal, however, remember that all
individuals must graduate sequentially through each stage.

The majority of the consistent staff, including full-time and part-time McCalls
employees, older contractors, or returning younger contractors resemble Stage 2
culture. Again, the routined nature of event production takes a toll on people as
they consistently see problems that do not change. One common gripe employees
make is the level of food waste that occurs at every event. It is reported at the end
of the night, multiple platters of viable food are dumped out into trash cans. This is
especially alarming to employees who are witnessing this for the first time, oftening
prompting them to make comments like “why doesn’t anyone do something about
this?” or “can’t we do something different?” These concerns are usually met with an
impatience to get things done, usually by a mixture of Stage 2 and Stage 3
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employees who have become detached from trying to fix the problem. This
desensitization can put the concerned individuals further into Stage 2 culture, or
even back into Stage 1.

Another common phenomenon is the avoidance of accountability among these

workers. This is frequently observed at the end of the night when the dishes have
to be bussed, the trucks have to be loaded; when team leaders make a request of
the group and not a single person volunteers to fulfill it. The employees are hiding
in bathrooms, or pretending they are busy so no one will bother them.

Leaders should direct employees with specific actions, delegating tasks and
communicating appreciation when they are completed. It is impactful to show each
person how their work brings value with affirmations and praise for things they are
doing well, modeling the language of Stage 3 - they are great. This effort will help
identify the workers who can be recruited into the next stage. Having more Stage 3
workers means better task delegation when team structures become intermixed, as
they always do at the end of the night.

III. Stage 3 - “I’m Great (and You’re Not)”

The most common arrestment of workplace culture sits at Stage 3, where
competent people value their own skills above all. The crux here is that it creates an
attitude of “I’m great”, with an underlying suffix of “and you’re not”. While that
sentiment is mostly unspoken, it is always implicit in the language and behavior
they exude. Individuals of this tribe often feel they are doing all the work and not
getting enough support from team members, and are hallmarked with the
frequency of highlighting other peoples’ incompetence. The dominating noun of
every sentence is “I”, rather than “we”; the repetitive boasting of personal
accomplishments and perks overrides conversations. They discourage team efforts,
unless they can be the star.

While they may be performing their tasks adequately, when a whole group of
people operate by this culture, it creates condescension and mistrust in others’
abilities, forming a system of dyadic (two person) relationships. This causes
inefficiencies in workplace operations, and does not optimize the talents of the
members. When a leader is at the center of this hub-and-spoke network, it can be
especially detrimental to a tribe’s potential to transcend into Stage 4. Leaders who
exemplify the “I’m great, and you’re not” mentality waste their time micromanaging
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their dyadic relationships, believing that is the only way they can ensure
compliance, when they can be using their time to address value-based matters.

The intense pride and ownership of Stage 3 culture is rooted in the perception that
they can only rely on themselves. Western culture and corporate hierarchies
condition us to believe individualism is most valued above all, reinforcing the
notion that merit is the sole judgment of achievement. It breeds an obsession with
the self, time management, and an addiction to results. The disillusionment of this
culture, this desire to be greater than others, holds people and tribes back from
their collective potential. It is appropriate to congratulate ourselves on our
accomplishments, however, when overdone, it limits our ability to move into higher
ground. We must celebrate milestones without cutting others down, and when we
recognize that success is not strung on merit alone, we can make room for likewise
gifted people. “When you start to see other people’s insightful nature and unique
talents” as an opportunity to grow with or learn from, this shift in perspective
becomes your “launchpad for epiphanies”, and can be profound when encouraged
by a Stage 4 mentor (Logan et al, Ch 6, 44:00-44:07).

To move beyond Stage 3, we must accept individual success will not be enough to
accomplish world changing goals. Vision and values are empty vessels without a
team, otherwise they are just personal beliefs with no movement or empowerment.
Real power comes from building networks. Assign Stage 3 members to big projects
they cannot take on by themselves, no matter how smart they are; projects that
require collaboration and partnerships. This engagement encourages members to
form triads, three person relationships, which are the building blocks for Stage 4.
The interdependency on team members will be proof that collective wisdom is
more powerful than isolated knowledge. As members of Stage 3 start to shift
towards Stage 4, they will start substituting “I” for “we”, communicate with frequent
transparency, and point to the team as the key for success.

The other majority group of McCalls Stage 3 employees are full time operations and
culinary crew members. Most team leads for servers, the bar, stewards, cooks
embody the “I’m great, and you’re not” attitude. Rather than taking the time to bring
others to their level, they make comments, especially about or towards the
contracted staff, that highlight their incompetence. In the events industry, it is next
to impossible to do everything by yourself, and while these employees know this,
their dissonance causes them to separate themselves from others. They pride
themselves on getting the job done, even if it means doing more work. Some
contractor staff members exhibit their separation from apathetic Stage 1 and 2
members by stepping up to do what their peers are unwilling to, but then resent
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those members for their laziness or lack of common sense, rather than helping
with task delegation.

Since these are often acting team leaders, the event manager should model Stage 4
communication by saying things such as “we should help the other team members
by…”, and encourage their use of “we” vertibage when they give directions to their
teams. Managers should remind team leaders that as good as they are at their job,
they need the teamwork of supporting staffing members. Managers can further
direct team leaders to divide the team responsibilities to groups of two or more,
entrusting delegation of roles among sub group members, encouraging them to
find resolutions to challenges on their own. If there is an opportunity for a team
lead to take on a project they have not done before, give them the chance to step
into that role. For other staff members, offer them the opportunity to be captains
(head server) and operate their own teams during food service, especially the
returning contractors who have potential to grow into leadership positions. When
clients have positive reviews about specific staff members, leaders should put in
effort to relay that feedback to the staff member in focus.

IV. Stage 4 - “We’re Great”

The theme that unites members of the Stage 4 tribe is an unanimous attitude of
“we’re great”. Members trust in their common purpose that is led by shared value
systems. People who are engaged on this cultural level no longer seek fulfillment
from solely their personal accomplishments, but rather in a movement around a
larger mission. Individuals feel connected over something greater than their own
competence, and form into a tribe that is aware of their own existence. Stage 4 is
fueled by genuine participation in partnerships, and strong networks of triadic
relationships naturally form out of an intention to accomplish team goals.
Management becomes easy as information flows freely through these networks,
leaving time for higher priority endeavours. People can be expected to hold each
other accountable, and work through their own conflicts to find solutions. The tribal
pride is additionally amplified by the team out-performing their competitors.

“By drawing on the tribe’s convictions and values, they became more powerful”
than where they were at Stage 3 (Logan et al, Ch 7, 36:24-36:26). When we do
something that is consistent with what we believe, we feel passion. Your role as a
leader in this stage is to prevent individual relapse into Stage 3 by stabilizing the
team’s core values and strengthening triadic networks. Implementing a routine “oil
change” with your team creates an environment to check in with what is working
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well, what areas need improvement, and what the team can do to make those
issues better. When new members are recruited to the tribe who share these
values, encourage current members to pass on the wisdom of what has been
working well, and connect them to the network of triadic relationships. When these
factors are secured, you will have capacity to start developing a tribal strategy into
Stage 5.

McCalls has been a trailblazer in the Bay Area’s events industry, and the reward is in
the feeling of exceeding client expectations and creating high quality experiences
all for your guests. Returning clients are a sign of your organization’s greatness, and
there is immense pride in consistently being the company that hosts museum
galas, global conferences, and annual city events. People are attending your events
all over the world, and leaving with unforgettable experiences. As the president,
you are the first to receive this praise and appreciation. It is important to pass that
acknowledgment and credit towards the collective team effort, because the scale of
accomplishing your mission for white glove hospitality consists of multiple tribes
coming together to deliver their best work. You should host quarterly check-ins
with each of your departments (leadership, operations, sales, design, and culinary),
and foster an environment where staff feel safe contributing their
recommendations, reflection on what has been successful, and share other
valuable information. If there are areas for improvement, allow the team to work
together to develop a strategy, and then check-in again. Encourage members to be
proactive in their own suggestions, and connect with adjacent departments to
accomplish those goals.

V. Stage 5 - “Life is Great”

Although it is rare, it is possible for organizations to transcend into a Stage 5 tribal
culture. Organizations enter into this stage when an unique market opportunity
allows them to embark on a history-making path. This path is not about out-doing
competitors. The group's only purpose is their noble cause, the impact they intend
to make. The tribe is able to form larger network relationships over resonate
values.

During your quarterly “oil change” check-ins, identify recurring values embedded in
the feedback of Stage 4 members. These can include hopes for serving a larger
purpose, that is not based on beating competing caters. For example, one higher
purpose could be addressing the food waste commonly brought up by members in
all stages. Connecting with other organizations whose mission may differ from
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yours, however, hold similar values, can be the path towards advancing your team
into Stage 5.

San Francisco, like any metropolis, is a hub for food waste generation, and a major
contributor is the excess from large catered events. Rather than continuing the
unfettered dumping of platters at the end of each night, perhaps your organization
can partner with Food Runners and the SF Food Security Task Force to redirect the
extra food towards populations in need, and keep edible food from the landfill.

As a certified San Francisco Green Business, you are devoted to creating menus and
events that minimize our environmental impact, and there are additional ways to
benefit the community outside of your clients. Embodying your company values
through all possible avenues will further reinforce the pride of your employees in
working for McCalls. This instinct reward cycle can trickle down to lower stages of
tribal culture, modeling the possibility for a positive work environment for those
members looking to engage in active roles.

Conclusion
For the authors of Tribal Leadership, it is a matter of fact that “fish school, birds
flock, people tribe”. The way in which people speak and their belief systems heavily
influence the level of work they perform. Fear is never an effective way of
promoting change in behavior, and a leader’s choice of language can be the
leverage for instilling organizational change. You must recognize the themes of the
language used in each stage of tribal culture, so you can touch all people in varying
levels of your organization. However, remember that people can only hear one
stage above and level where they are. When we communicate with different
language systems, we could not understand each other at all. Moving up zones
means relinquishing the language of their current stage, and adopting the
behaviors of the next. People cannot skip stages, they must grow through all
stages. You can extend the influence of each tribe by connecting them to others,
and uniting teams and individuals around shared values.

Dedicating time to engage with members at each level of tribal culture is part of the
process for effective tribal leadership, and being intentional in your communication
will have a lasting effect. Praise people for what they do well often, and align their
achievements with the contribution to the company mission, and eventually, the
tribe will pull you along with them in their drive for higher purpose.
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Citations
Logan, David, et al. Tribal Leadership. Narrated by Steven Jay Cohen. Collins,
2019. Audiobook.