It is an idea that Ashforth advances under the banner of “tribalism” in a chapter he authored for the forthcoming SAGE “Handbook of New Approaches in Management and Organization.”

After all, says Ashforth, a pack of paralegals or a covey of consultants drinking java or hanging about the proverbial water cooler is not so different from a tribe of Neolithic hunters sitting around a campfire. We as a species have come a long way since the days when the morning commute meant braving saber-tooth tigers but, at our core, people are still very much the same social animals we’ve always been. We want to feel like we belong and we value our closest connections beyond people we don’t know.

In a very real sense, organizations big and small would benefit by seeing themselves framed by a variation of Former U.S. House Speaker Thomas (Tip) O’Neill Jr.’s maxim, “All politics is local.” People care about the big issues, but place a very large importance on whether the potholes on their street are fixed and if there are jobs to be had in their town. So it is with organizational culture: The big issues matter but employees are most likely to judge an organization by their most local contacts — their boss and immediate coworkers.

Ashforth says an organization’s success is largely linked to its smallest social units, the tribes who congregate around the coffee maker.

Ashforth does make a worthwhile point about the connections made and the translation of higher-order communication to the lower level, he neglects to mention the downside of such talk: office gossip. Every office has it, and I rarely ever see it as a positive. Generally, the gossip is negative in nature and really doesn’t do anything to benefit the organization. I don’t really see the groups that gather around the office as tribes…I think they more resemble packs of hyenas looking for tidbits of news to prey on.

When you are at the lower levels of the organization, or not in a formal leadership or management position, the best way to lead is through your actions. People will take notice of how you act and what decisions you are making. If your manager is good, and you work for those who are observant, you will be notice and recognized. People will be more likely to follow along and act in the same manner if they see you getting ahead by doing the right thing. Especially if it comes to a change program, your actions can speak louder than words. If people see you being a champion through your actions, they will be more likely to jump on board as well.

Leadership is about communication – and the method used to communicate will vary by your level. You non-verbal actions will say a lot about you and what you believe.

Let’s look at what is really takes to get things done. The word execution might come to mind – you have to execute on your processes in order to accomplish anything. But look deeper – what is being that execution? How do people know what to execute on? How do people know what the processes are, and what the important goals of the organization are?

One word: communication. It all comes down to communication, and if your organization isn’t effective at communicating, and if your leaders are unable to communicate in an effective manner, nothing will get done….at least not properly. In an organization, no matter what area you are looking at, the most important thing is communication. If people don’t talk to each other, if they don’t understand each other, or what is important, or what the organization is trying to accomplish, or how their role fits into the big picture – if none of that happens, the organization will not be effective.

And what drives all of that? Communication. And not just communication – effective, clear, precise, understandable communication. If the message isn’t being understood, if messages aren’t being delivered and received properly, it really isn’t communication. Its noise. And if there is too much noise, there cannot be communication.

Communication – yes, it is that important.

While I completely disagree with what Blagojevich has done, there is something that I find more shocking. I was listening to “All Things Considered” on NPR last week and they had an interview with Pat Quinn, the lieutenant governor of Illinois. During that interview, he mentioned that the last time he had a meaningful conversation of more than a couple words was August 2, 2007. Yes, you heard that correctly. The governor and lieutenant governor haven’t spoken in nearly a year and a half. No wonder he is calling for his resignation or impeachment. I’d like to point out that I don’t think they’ve ever communicated or got along well – before the primaries in Illinois, the governor and lieutenant governor run separately, and then are put on the same ticket for the general election. Thus, you end up with the possibility of getting stuck with two people who don’t like or won’t talk to each other.

An organization cannot be effective unless there is free and open communication. How can an organization set expectations and goals, develop a culture, deliver on processes, and provide leadership if the guy at the top won’t talk to anyone? Blagojevich, through his isolation and ability to pretty much piss off everyone around, including the entire Illinois congress, has shown exactly how not to foster good communication in an organization.

Communication matters. Actually, it more than matters – it is critical to the success of an organization. Nothing will get done properly, efficiently, nor effectively if communication is lacking or non-existent. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t also state that the type of communication also matters. Bribery, extortion and political trade-offs don’t really count as effective communication. That lesson was apparently never learned by Blagojevich.