Gleaning leadership lessons from animals around us

CHIEDZA KADARE AND PAUL NYAUSARU

Communication:

Animals have developed complex communication systems that allow them to work together and share information effectively.

As a leader, it’s important to communicate clearly and effectively with your team.

The success of a team lies in the ability of the leader to communicate clearly the vision for team members to own the vision and contribute meaningfully towards its attainment.

Adaptability:

Animals are highly adaptable and can quickly adjust to changes in their environment.

Leaders should be similarly adaptable and able to pivot and adjust their approach as needed.

A great leader is one who is able to see a situation coming and be able to adapt to it.

He/she is one who sees opportunities in changed situations and provides hope to team members.

Resilience:

Animals often face adversity and setbacks, but can bounce back and continue moving forward. As a leader, it’s important to be resilient and to help your team develop resilience as well.

It is easy for the team to be resilient if they see evidence of the same in the leader.

Collaboration:

Many animals work together in groups or packs to achieve a common goal. Leaders should encourage collaboration and teamwork among their team members.

This can be done through creating and providing opportunities for collaboration.

Rather than for the team leader to provide solutions, it is best to come up with opportunities that promote collaboration.

Decisiveness:

In the wild, animals often have to make split-second decisions to survive. As a leader, it’s important to be decisive and make timely decisions when necessary.

Volatile situations call for quick and decisive actions in order to take advantage of the prevailing situation.

A good leader will always be quick in deciding what is good for the organization and there is no harm in quickly getting the ideas of one or two team members along the way,

Vision:

Some animals have highly developed senses that allow them to see things that others can’t. As a leader, it’s important to have a clear vision for your team and to be able to see opportunities that others might miss.

Focused: 

Animals such as eagles have the best long-distance vision of any bird of prey. They can see about eight times as far as humans, allowing them to spot and focus on a rabbit or other animal from about two miles away.

This is an important attribute of any great leader, to be able to see beyond the obvious.

Trust:

Many animals form strong bonds of trust with their pack members, which allows them to work together more effectively.

As a leader, it’s important to build trust with the team and foster a sense of community and belonging.

This is one attribute which set great leaders from ordinary leaders. Gaining the trust of team members makes them believe in you and your capabilities. It is the glue that binds a team together.

Persistence:

Some animals, like wolves, will persistently pursue their prey until they achieve their objective.

Leaders should be similarly persistent in pursuing their goals and objectives. Such a spirit is what results in a team achieving great things.

Economic situations may usually dampen a team’s spirit and this is where persistence comes in handy to propel the team.

Empathy:

Animals are often highly attuned to the emotions and needs of their pack members.

As a leader, it’s important to be empathetic and to understand the needs and concerns of your team members.

A great leader creates an environment in which the team mourns together when one faces a misfortune.

An environment in which the team supports each other in bad times is created from the top and keeps the team together.

Indeed we can learn great lessons from animals that can help us sharpen our leadership acumen.

As leaders we learn every day and we never stop learning even from small things.

The next time we any behavior in animals, let us take time to draw lesson that perfect out art of leadership.

Chiedza Kadare is an OD Practitioner. You can get in touch with her on WhatsApp/call +263 77 283 0986 or Email chiedza.kadare@gmail.com

Paul Nyausaru is an OD Practitioner and leadership coach. For all your OD interventions and leadership development training you can get in touch with him on WhatsApp/call +263774062756 or Email pnyausaru@gmail.com