The Power of Building Your Tribe
“Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.”
A couple of months ago, a Mentoring Circle that we conducted at Shenomics got me thinking – the topic we discussed for the day was that of ‘Belonging’, something I don’t think I quite understood. Sure, I knew what the word meant and I had a sense of what it implied, but what did true belonging mean? I was introduced to the definition that Brene’ Brown uses for Belonging that day, and it sparked a change in the way I thought. Brene’ believes that “True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness*. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.”
This is a lot to get your head around, but what stood out for me was three things –
One: to truly belong, you need to know who you are, and be ok with being you.
Two: you cannot be trying to fit into what is considered acceptable by the people around you.
Three: it is ok to stand alone.
While a lot of belonging stems from the search of who you are, and what you value, an equally important aspect of belonging also means that we find a group of people we can be ourselves with, who share common traits and, on a deeper sense, common values, and who also are there to help us thrive – in short, this group of people are our tribe.
Finding this tribe is invaluable, especially in today’s day and age where we all seem to be connected in a virtual world, but very rarely in real-life. Finding oneself is a life-long journey, I believe, and at every juncture in life we realise or understand something new about ourselves – if anyone had told the 25-year-old me that I would be as passionate about supporting women in their leadership journeys as I am today, I would never have believed them. And yet today, I understand that this is something I have been veering towards since I started my career. I am sure this would be the same for many of us. And so, while I absolutely agree with the definition of belonging, and the importance of knowing oneself in that journey, I think it is also critical for us to know who is in our tribe, as without that group of people around us, the journey can get lonely.
For women building their careers, there is a lot of research that shows that the importance of their tribe cannot be understated. How does this tribe help?
It helps each of us grow
Being a part of the tribe means you want every other person in the group to grow, and you support each other in that journey. As an HBR podcast, Women At Work, pointed out in one of their episodes, “sisterhood is power”. There is something empowering knowing that there are other women around you whom you can turn to, especially when things are not going the way you want them to, and whom you can depend on, and trust, to help you find your way out.
There is strength in numbers
One woman speaking up at the workplace can be ignored. Two women? Maybe not as easily, but they can still be overlooked. 25 women? Definitely not. Being a part of a tribe not just amplifies the voice each of us has, it gives us the ability to speak up and get noticed.
You are creating a legacy
We live in interesting times. The whole world is so interconnected that when women rise in one part of the world, the effect of it can be felt in the other. This means that the smallest change we create can potentially create a ripple effect that we would never have imagined – an impact that will not just be felt in our generation, but very likely in the next.
Each of us today has a responsibility towards the next generation of young women, to create a world that is better than the one we live in. As we go about building this world for the future, let us learn to build each other up and create our tribe that is an example of what this world needs – embracing and celebrating our differences. What an exciting challenge to have!
