Being captain on the leadership council for the gymnastics team has taught me that becoming a leader is downright one of the most important aspects of being successful. But what’s even more important than being a leader is being a good leader.

Seth Godin’s book, Tribes, gave me a lot of insight on the traits of a leader, especially in terms of comparing a leader to a boss. Since I was named a member of the leadership council for the Rutgers Gymnastics team, I connected to Tribes on a personal level.

Being a good leader is about opening yourself up and connecting with your tribe to reach a common goal.

As a captain I use my personal beliefs, as well as new ideas I have learned, to push my team towards our goals on a daily basis.

Gymnastics

One idea that I have always felt strongly about that was touched upon in Tribes was the idea of not doing something for glory, but instead because you genuinely want to help.

“Which is true of all great leaders…They’re generous. They exist to help the tribe find something, to enable the tribe to thrive. But they understand that the most powerful way to enable is to be statue-worthy.” – Seth Godin.

Leaders want nothing more than to achieve their goals with people they care about and respect. They are open to ideas from tribe members and go out of their way to connect with these people.

This is my passion and this is why I enjoy my role on the gymnastics team as a captain in the leadership council.

Making personal connections with my team forms trust and makes the team work as a whole.
A tribe won’t reach a goal without the support and dedication from each member. If trust is formed, team members are more likely to follow my lead and trust the process.

“He didn’t tell them what to do. He didn’t manage the effort; he led it.” – Seth Godin.

Leading by example to me means not only leading in the physical aspect of gymnastics, but also in the leading aspect in itself. A boss is most interested in results, and doesn’t specifically care about the learning process to achieve these results. In my opinion, the process is when character is built and knowledge is gained.

Personally, I try to fine tune the process and focus on the small details, because that’s when habits are formed and greatness is achieved. Bosses don’t necessarily care about forming connections with their employees. Forming connections with other members of my tribe is not only a genuine hobby of mine, but it is key for our success.

While reading Tribes I couldn’t help but relate it to being a captain on the leadership council for the gymnastics team. Good leaders are vital to a tribe if they want to reach, or even surpass their goals. Just like in the book, I make it a point to lead my team and tribe by example. Because of this, I form trustworthy bonds between my teammates and do what I love to do.

Within today’s world, business is extremely difficult.

It seems as if we have created most anything and it is becoming increasingly more difficult for people to stand-out in our society. However, author Seth Godin poses that in today’s world, we have an extremely rare opportunity: to bring people together. In his work Tribes, Godin suggests that people are ultimately looking to connect with others who have similar beliefs, interests, and experiences and make lasting connections. I witnessed this phenomenon personally, although I did not realize it at the time.

During high school, I embarked upon an extremely difficult goal. At the same time that I was seeking a Division I golf scholarship and was enrolled in the most challenging high school in the Midwest, I decided to take a school project to an entirely new level. This was when my company Fashion With a Passion was born.

As a part of my high-school curriculum, I was required to create my own project that combined the elements of Creativity, Action, and Service.

Being the over-achiever that I am, I wanted to not only make my school proud of my project, but also find a way to give-back to the community that supported me in every way. This was when I allowed my creative juices to flow. I ultimately decided to start my own handbag company that combined my love for fashion, passion for life, and motivation to make a difference in the community. With the mentoring of my cousin who was a fellow handbag designer, I designed, marketed, and brought my signature “TLC Bag” to the local spotlight.

My company was centered around the Donate Life campaign. As I am the daughter of an organ recipient and the niece of an organ donor, I wanted to give-back to the community that gave my dad the gift of vision. Not only did I strive to raise money for the foundation, but I also sought to increase the amount of donors in my community and change the negative stigma of organ donation. Through my hard work, I quickly attracted attention and was featured in various local magazines, newsletters, radio shows, and even made a TV appearance. After my appearances in the local media, the project immediately took-off and I sold-out of my entire inventory within a week. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I wasn’t selling purses; I was assembling a tribe.

According to Godin, humans long to connect to one another and form “tribes,” which was what happened during my project.

Looking back, my supporters weren’t looking to buy a purse, but were instead looking to connect with other people whose lives had been affected by organ donation and join a movement bigger than themselves. As a part of Fashion With a Passion, I made it a point to let others share their stories with me on the phone and on my website, allowing for a support network to form within my company. This was the true core of my business because it allowed everyone to share their stories and it showed everyone that they are a part of a greater community. Although this tribe was bonded by tragedy, it was strong nonetheless.

Although I reached my fundraising goals, I eventually concluded the project with a much bigger impact than I had ever anticipated. Not only did this experience teach me how to run a company, it also allowed me and others to connect with a greater community whose lives had been touched by organ donation. Through hearing the stories of others and sharing my own, I gained a stronger appreciation for life and eventually went-on to achieve all of my goals both inside and outside of the company. Perhaps the biggest lesson that I learned through this project is that tribes can assemble anywhere, out of both the greatest miracles and through the worst tragedies.

All a tribe needs is one person who is willing to assemble them, and together, they are unstoppable.

What is a tribe? According to Seth Godin, “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea”.

Throughout everyone’s lives there is something that puts people together. They have things in common with other individuals. A shared common interest is extremely important to me because I have been on the positive side of joining a tribe.

The culture of a tribe is different than any other.

It may form bonds that are unbreakable. Everyone deserves to be a part of something special and I understand it is difficult to decide on joining something or not. But if you don’t know what to do, you should ask yourself “why not?”

When I was growing up, my father always used to tell me to not shy away from something that I was interested in and to never give up on my dreams and aspirations. During my short but eventful life, I have been a part of many tribes without even thinking about it.

The sports teams I’ve played on and the clubs I’ve joined all have something in common with one another: a shared interest. Having a common interest is an important key to being successful.

I have been on teams that have won championships because we all loved the sport and we played together. The clubs I have joined were and still are successful to this day. Joining Habitat For Humanity has changed my life. The other members of this tribe are truly remarkable. We all want to help those in need by giving them something they dream about.

Tribes are an integral part to most individuals’ lives. They help connect people that would not have been together otherwise.

Tribes create a culture between individuals that gives everyone the power to say and do what they believe is best. We trust one another, and trust is the single most important thing involving tribes.

Individuals that make up a tribe all want to make themselves better, while getting others from the outside to believe in what they set to achieve. I’ve met people that I never would have thought of getting to know. The tribes that are not successful are the ones whose members are selfish and not trustworthy.

Tribe members need to rely on one another to achieve maximum success.

A problem with tribes is not having everyone on board with the goal you plan on achieving. I have also been a part of tribes that have not worked out and that feeling is kind of depressing.

I left that tribe because their goals were different than mine and the members just didn’t care about each other. Every time I see one of them walking around, they act like I am not even there. It’s either their way or no way in their minds.

They don’t have the ability to change, even when change is necessary. I do not have ill will towards these members, it just didn’t work out and I moved on to bigger and better tribes.

When joining a tribe, one must say to oneself “why not?” because what is the worst thing that can happen? Like my example, when I joined a tribe, I just moved on.

It can either work out really well or not and you go find a new tribe to join. Obviously, you have to join something you are really interested in, or else you will want to leave. Thinking “why not?” goes for anything. Trying something you are unsure of can actually maximize your potential and help in the future. Why not take a chance at something that is unusual but can push you to another level?

Joining a tribe that someone is unsure about is always worth a shot, and can help in the present and future. It can change your life in a major way.

There are two important topics I have learned in Organizational Behavior of Sport Management that are very similar to experiences have had in my life. These two topics are the subject of Tribes from Seth Godin’s novel “Tribes” and Level 5 Leadership from Jim Collins’ novel “Good to Great”.

The definition of a tribe is “any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea.” Based on this definition, tribes exist in many different forms; whether they are businesses, sports teams, non-profit organizations, charity organizations, etc. However, tribes cannot be what they are without following the attributes of leadership, teamwork and generosity. Godin says that “Leaders who set out to give are more productive than leaders who seek to get.” In my senior year in high school, I have experienced tribes as well as leadership that perfectly demonstrates the attributes of tribes.

The tribes I was involved in were sports teams such as the Varsity Men’s Soccer Team as well as student tribes such as the Jackson National Honor Society. In my experience on the soccer team, our goal was to not only win games and the State and Shore Conference finals but to have a good time together and to help the freshman and junior varsity players become leaders. In my experience in the National Honor Society, our goal was to promote academic excellence, service to the community, and leadership for the real world.

These tribes are different regarding ideology and activities they do, but one thing they have in common is that they demonstrate the same attributes that make up an excellent tribe. 

Without these attributes, there would be no leadership or teamwork in the tribe and eventually the tribe would cease to exist. Not only did I have experiences of tribes throughout my life, I have also had experience with Level 5 Leadership. Level 5 Leadership is defined as Level 5 executives who build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Through the experience I had with the Varsity Soccer Team and the National Honor Society, I had seen a bit of Level 5 Leadership. The soccer team’s captain had an agenda to lead the team to the State and Shore Conference Finals and win. Unfortunately, we did not win, but the captain did express personal humility which was a big and bold move for a captain.

That kind of leadership is what actually lead the team to the finals in the first place.

If only Rutgers Football and Men’s basketball had that kind of leadership and teamwork they would’ve been an excellent team that is very worth watching on television and spectating at the stadium and the court. Regarding the National Honor Society, the president followed the organization’s agenda to promote academic excellence and create great leaders which was the professional will of a Level 5 leader. There were some instances where followers didn’t follow their roles and broke a few of the organization’s rules, but the president took it upon himself to stop the disorder and take full responsibility for the organization’s mistakes.

The attributes of personal humility and professional will are considered a paradoxical blend because it is impossible to mix them into one single attribute. However, through my experience with both tribes, I was able to see the Level 5 Leadership in the team captain and the president of the National Honor Society. Both leaders didn’t let their ego get in the way of ambition for team and the organization and concern for their success. They also took responsibility for any mistakes or disorder that may have happened in the team and the organization.

This is why in today’s world we all need tribes and leadership like the tribes and leadership I have experienced. If we do not have them, then there would be nothing left to do in our lives and humanity would no longer function as a whole.

Reading both Tribes by Seth Godin and Good to Great by Jim Collins has given me a much more positive outlook on my future. Both books were very powerful and really spoke to me in an influential way.

Godin teaches how to become a leader, and to not be afraid of leading. Collins teaches how to use that leadership in your career and how to not only be good, but also be great. I have been able to relate both of these books to my internship and I find myself referencing the books often. Throughout this paper I will discuss some of my favorite parts of each book and mention ways that I have related the books to my life.

Tribes by Seth Godin is a book about leadership. Godin defines a tribe as a group of people who are connected to one another, a leader and an idea.

Throughout the book Godin encourages readers to find their Tribe, step up, and lead. I found this to be helpful because a lot of people our age struggle with finding that confidence to actually step up and lead. Seth Godin gives examples and encouragement to his readers by explaining how anyone can step up and lead, and ever since reading this book I feel that I have had a little extra confidence and motivation to be a leader.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the section titled “The F Word.” This section reveals the real issue in turning one’s ideas into reality, fear. Many people have good ideas, even great ideas, but may not have the will or confidence to take their idea to the next level.

Godin states, “In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”

This quote spoke to me deeply because one of my biggest problems is taking action. I have always let the fear of failure take over my will to lead but ever since reading Tribes, I have a different outlook on leading. Everyone fails, everyone hits speed bumps and everyone needs to learn from their mistakes. If you let fear get in the way of this process, it will be very difficult to lead and become successful. After reading Tribes, I wake up a little more confident, and a little more fearless in leading.

Good to Great by Jim Collins is a great book that gives extensive research about a small fraction of companies that transition from a good company to a truly great company.

As Collins states, it is so difficult to transition from good to great. But with the right operational practices and behaviors, it is possible to become a great company. Collins, like Godin, proves that anyone can become successful and lead. Everyone comes from a different place and background, but we can all find the answers inside and become a truly great leader.
My favorite part of Good to Great is Level 5 Leadership. Collins reveals interviews with some of the “good” and “great” companies that determine the differences between the leaders. He finds that the executives that show Level 5 Leadership display “an unusual mix of intense determination and profound humility.”

These leaders invested a larger portion of their life to their company, worrying about the gain of the company, rather than the personal gain of the individual. These leaders often gave the credit to their teammates, rather than themselves and rarely spoke about themselves. According to Collins, this is what it takes to be a Level 5 Leader, and I couldn’t agree with him more.

In my opinion, it shows a serious amount of strength to become a truly humble person. If one is able to remain humble, while also putting forth an extreme amount of hard work and motivation, you have learned how to become a great leader. These attributes of being a leader apply very well to someone who is leading a company. For me, I can only do so much leading. When it comes to my internship, I try to lead as much as possible.

But I don’t only try to lead, I always refer to Jim Collins level 5 leadership attributes and try to emulate that as best as I can.

As I stated earlier, both Seth Godin’s Tribes and Jim Collins Good to Great spoke to me deeply and I am glad I had the opportunity to read them. I try to take their advice, be less scared, take risks, and remain humble as best I can. There are many lessons to learn as one is growing as a professional and Godin and Collins both tackle many of these lessons. I believe that reading these books has given me a more positive outlook on my life and future and I will continue to reference these books as I grow as a professional.

Being an Exercise Science – Sport Management major gives people the impression that I know what LeBron James eats before a game; in reality, I’d have to Google what team he plays for because I have no idea. While I posses very little knowledge about traditional team sports, my focus is completely dedicated to the sport of Motocross.

Most people laugh when I tell them that Professional Motocross is considered one of the most physically demanding sports in the world (Google seems to agree). In the Rutgers community, Motocross is an incredibly unfamiliar and underrepresented sport. It is astounding that a sport filled with such passion, commitment, and athleticism is curtained off from mainstream sport culture. Athletes continue to risk their lives in pursuit of a podium finish, regardless of the minimal reward.

This behavior can be better understood by reading Seth Godin’s Tribes. Seth Godin’s concept of a tribe is defined as a group of people who are connected to One Another, a Leader, and an Idea. This unfathomable desire to push the possible limits of man and machine is the core principle that makes the Motocross community a perfect medium for tribes to assemble. When I began reading Tribes, I immediately related everything to my own experiences involving riding and racing dirt bikes. Something that I can personally attest to, is that Motocross is something that you try once, and if you like it, it becomes a part of you for the rest of your life; the same can presumably be said about sport in general.

I first started riding dirt bikes when I was in first grade.

My neighbor owned a Honda Motorcycle dealership at the time, and let me borrow a bike to learn on. After eight years of riding recreationally, I started racing the East Coast Enduro Association (ECEA) Championship Hare Scramble Series. By freshman year of college, I qualified as an A-Class Racer, one step below AA/Pro class. Though I no longer race, I was able to land an internship with ECEA working along side their marketing department. The races themselves resemble a cross-country running event with motocross bikes, and are organized by local Off-Road Motorcycle Clubs, one of which I am apart of.

These events are profitable, but nobody within ECEA or their sanctioned clubs accepts a paycheck. Instead, revenue generated is given back to the hosting community, and used to cover the costs of the next event. The fact that nobody in the organization gets paid is a testament to the passion that these people have for perpetuating the sport. A large contributor to why ECEA is able to operate for its 44th consecutive year is because they use leverage to gain access to event properties. Using Godin’s Crowbar theory, ECEA promises profits and donations that will be recycled back into the local economy in one way or another. For example, after the Stump Jumper Hare Scramble, the organizing club, MCI, purchased AED devices for Eagleswood Township to install in their ambulances.

This is just one example of how an organization can go above and beyond to boost PR and gain access to otherwise unobtainable resources. ECEA and its clubs all embody what Seth Godin would consider a tribe. The organizational structure of ECEA consists of a President, Vice President, and subsequent leadership positions. Clubs have their own similar organizational structure using strategic positions and meetings that align with ECEA guidelines and goals.

While this organization has structure, it is not at all resistant to change.

Most of the board members are 45 years old, or older. When I came in to assist their marketing team, they were using an outdated, and terribly branded marketing strategy that I wanted to change. I was able to redesign their website, and series logos without opposition or resistance from existing ECEA leadership. Couple that with a redesigned social media plan, and ECEA is naturally progressing despite exclusively using volunteer efforts.

Overall, I believe that the off-road motorcycle community provides a unique system of continued progression purely due to the communication and collaboration of enthusiasts.

We sucked, we were embarrassed, and we were defeated. For six years, I trained my ass, thinking that the outcome will be worth it. When the time came, I was wrong. I suffered for two years. During training, I questioned my ethics and morals among my teammates. Fights broke out people went through the motions. NO ONE cared. We were all sheepwalking. We were recruited to play and win games, but in reality we just showed up to practice and did what were told to do.

At the time, our leaders were hidden. We were faced with high expectations and delivered nothing. When my freshman year ended, we were given a t-shirt at the alumni game and pity “golf claps” from the alumni. The next season was a repeat.

During the spring season of sophomore year, the “cancers” and the “rats” were off the team.

That cleared the air for us, but we were still faced with a challenge. In order for our team to get on the same page we all needed to have a share interest. Yes, you can say that we were all here to play soccer, but that wasn’t good enough. Each person had different views and ideas of how we should play and that was a problem. There was no chemistry. So what did we do? Challenged our ideals. Challenging the status quo allowed everyone to rethink his ideals. That was the hardest thing to do. Seth Godin argues, “The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. But the hardest things is to initiate.” Step one was crossed off.

Now we needed to change the culture. Our past culture was destroyed by selfishness, which led to a losing streak, then partying on weekends, and the cycle continued to repeat itself. In order for our team to get back on a high stature, we had to be passionate for what we stood for. We had to come to practice with a mindset that we WANT to be here and are not FORCED to be here.

“The real power of [a team] has nothing to do with the (external factors) and everything to do with the people. You don’t need a (object) to lead… you only need the desire to make something happen.” And we had that desire. It came from a shared experience.

Our weight trainer changed our mentality.

We suffered through workouts everyday for 15 weeks. It was the most effective thing for our team because we connected. When you suffer for that long with everyone then it clicks in your head that we need to get on board. That suffering turned into a desire. A desire only a few people can understand. A selective group. Our group, our team.

Godin states, “One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group like-minded people.” Once you have a group of individuals that connect, you need to stay committed. Continue to believe in it. Our team believed in the workouts. We believed it will pay off, but there were no grantees. We believed in it because we had faith.

Four months later, my junior season started. We had a winning record; we made the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, and made the second round of the NCAA Tournament. For our team, that was a step closer to success. A team could be called many things. I never considered it as a tribe, until I understood it’s meaning. People who want success can only get it through shared interests. If no one else cares, how do you plan to exist? Someone else needs to have that shared interest in order for you to make something out of whatever it is.

“A movement is thrilling. It’s the work of many people, all connected, all seeking something better.”

Big thank you to Seth Godin and his work. Tribes has inspired millions of people to lead and be part of something great.

When being a part of a population, humans find different ways to separate themselves from the norm of that population. And with doing that, some are chosen to lead and some are chose to be lead.

The author Seth Godin in his book Tribes was mainly speaking about how the individuals that are the leaders go through certain processes and experiences that come with being the head of the pack.

In my experiences of having the role of being a leader, every main topic that was brought up in this book played some type of part. Right now, I am currently a Building Manager at the Werblin Recreation Center on Busch Campus. I have been there for three years now and in the management role for two. With being in this role, not only do I have to monitor the facility at all times but I also have to be a great leader and communicate with my staff so work sometimes doesn’t feel like work.

It started by stating the fact that what you have in front of you is an opportunity that not everyone has in life.

It is then the individual’s choice as to if they want to accept this opportunity or simply let it pass you by. Once that is established, the next question the leader is to ask their self is why me and why at this moment in time.

He states that some assume people are “born leaders” and those people are the individuals that should have management positions but then informs the readers how that may not be the case and I agree with him. A person could have great leadership skills but be horrible at organizing things and managing his time. With that, comes bad management.

Back when I was a server at Mccormick and Smicks in Bridgewater, my boss knew the perfect things to say to excite the servers so we would go out and work hard but at the same time he would consistently mess up my work schedule. I began to notice that I wasn’t the only one who he was doing this to either.

At least five other servers complained about their work schedule not being updated. It then became a problem when servers wouldn’t show up to shifts because he would wait until the day of to update the schedule. The manager would then call the server screaming at them for not showing up for their shift. Once that started happening, people began quitting left and right due to his lack of caring to stay on top of updating the system. He was able to make it seem like everything was under control when it was time to open for dinner, but the author was right about stability is simply a illusion.

Another topic I could relate to was when the author began speaking about how faith and religion work with leadership. With dealing with people, religion is a sensitive subject and a great leader knows that and always takes that into consideration. Leaders are also able to understand who around them lead like themselves or are they’re simply sheepwalkers. I never heard this term before but now that I know what it means, now I take time to look at my fellow coworkers at the recreation center to see who I am surrounded by. I feel that a lot of people in our society are sheepwalkers and don’t really have any interest in leading ever but will claim that that’s what they want to do because that is what everyone else is doing.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading this book for class and I have taken a lot from this. I view myself as a tight leader looking to find better ways to lead others and this book was filled with relatable topics that will help me in the future. Having the knowledge on how to lead people is one thing, and now it is up to me and the rest of the people who have read this book to apply it.