Adapted from the book, Tribal Alchemy: Turning What You Have Into What You Need. Dave Fleming. 2016. A Tribal Alchemy Resource.

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The Fluctuating Moods of Tribes

During any given day or week, a tribe’s moods fluctuate as situations ebb and flow. We’ve all experienced group moods change based on the mindsets they allow during challenging times. My almost 30 years of work with tribes has revealed a quality they enact so that their moods remain allies during challenges and opportunities.

 

Here it is:

My applied research and work revealed to me that ingenious tribes establish desired mindsets before a challenge or opportunity arises. Because of this, they are more likely to enact those mindsets, and thereby maintain effective moods, during the stress of challenges or opportunities.

 

Taking the time to craft mindsets before “the moment of truth” makes it more likely that they will be accessible during it. It also makes it more likely that the mood of the tribe will be shaped by the chosen mindsets rather than by the whims of the moment.

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Create Mind-Set Mantras To Optimize Mood and Performance

Your tribe can create “mind-set mantras” that reflect how you want to behave during challenges and opportunities. The aspirational mantras should be authentic. This means you regularly practice and talk about them. You can’t simply put the mantra on a poster and ignore it until you need it. The more you live it, the more you can access during more stressful times. Here are some examples of noble mind-set mantras that can optimize optimistic moods and performance during challenges and opportunities:

 

  • We believe in and maximize our collective genius
  • We value each other during times of uneasiness
  • Our collective skills and insights increase ingenuity
  • We use our emotions to fuel creative solutions

 

Your tribe may choose entirely different mindset mantras. The point is to choose them and begin living them before a significant challenge or opportunity arises. If you’re already facing a significant challenge or opportunity (which is likely), craft mindset mantras now and begin the practice of them. Over time, as you choose and practice your mindset mantras, you will notice a shift in mood and behavior during challenges and opportunities.

 

Even positive challenges and opportunities can deflate mood and strain a tribe’s performance. Mindset mantras give you an edge because they reveal how you want to behave once you arrive in a more challenging moment. And that can optimize your tribe’s mood and increase the actions that lead to ingenuity.

 

Does your tribe have mindset mantras?  Share one that optimizes your tribe’s mood and performance.