Diversity and Inclusion in Tech

+Modern Day Shamans and Chief and Search Strategies for the New Normal

Do you recognize yourself as a modern-day Shaman or Chief?

This topic has been fascinating to me lately: finding alternative leadership roles that are not the stereotypical hunter stereotype. What can we learn from the tribe’s leadership structures? Tribes have been around for thousands of years. And in many ways, they have similar structures of leadership to the business world.

Every tribe needs a Chief, just like every venture needs a CEO.

The Chief defines and communicates the tribe’s strategic direction, such as a new valley to forage or a mountain retreat to escape the heat of summer. The Chief listens to the opinions of the other tribal members, makes decisions that impact everyone, and ensures an adequate level of acceptance of such decisions to facilitate their ultimate success.

Chief

Works together
Shepherds the team toward its strategic goals
Slow and connected
Communicates clearly and supportively
Driven to maintain cohesion within the team
Indecisive
Prone to being railroaded
Defines the box

What is not so common in organizations is the Shaman. Shamans are different from chiefs. They invent new tools and processes that improve the overall quality of life within the tribe. For instance, the Shaman will spend his days thinking of a better fishhook, a new tool for cleaning skins, or searching for new medicinal plants to cure the tribe’s ailments.

Whatever name, the Shaman is the person who devises and develops the innovations upon which your business is based.

Shaman

Works differently
Creative visionary
Communicates differently - requires careful listening
Seeks a better way
Creates quickly and freely
Tripped up by details
Prone to devise complicated solutions
Prizes a solution’s technical elegance over its functionality
Unaware that a box exists

Did you Know?

On average, just 2.7% of executives in senior roles at 10 major tech companies are black, according to filings with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The precise number varies widely—from 1% or less at Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce to 6% at Airbnb and Slack.

If you are interested in expanding your search to underrepresented candidates contact me at andrea.guendelman@wallbreakers.com. We work with selective companies in their senior candidate’s search.