Leadership Lessons in the Wild: The Lion, the Dolphin, the Ant and the Wolf
The 4 Archetypes of Leadership
Most of you would have read or heard about Mowgli — the young boy from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book — who grows up in the jungle and learns to live with the animals.
The jungle, and by extension, the animal kingdom offers a number of leadership lessons in the wild that I wanted to explore with you. Please allow me to take you through a safari through the jungle, and don’t forget to fasten your seatbelt! Ready?
Lion — the Autocratic Leader
Our first stop is the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania where we are observing the King of the Jungle himself — the Lion.
As an aside, I grew up in Tanzania in a small town called Moshi, and made many trips to the many wildlife reserves in the region, including Serengeti. Do connect with me if you are from that region, and I would love to learn your experience!
Years of studies have revealed that lions are highly territorial and occupy the same area for generations. Females actively defend their territories against other females, while resident males protect prides from rival coalitions. The lion’s roar is a territorial display that can be heard from at least five km away. But it’s not the roar alone that has helped the Lion earn the badge of the King of the Jungle. Lions are known to make decisions unilaterally and decisively, demonstrating ultimate control of the power.
A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.
Vernon Howard
The autocratic leadership style is characterized by a leader who retains decision-making power and rarely seeks input from team members. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, is popularly seen as an autocratic leader who has a basket of unpopular decisions to his name. This is actually a very effective style in situations requiring quick decisions or strong central control, as it allows the organization to move on without getting stalled.
There have been numerous occasions in my own career where leadership was too passive, and autocratic leadership would have helped to move things forward. I’ve also slipped into the “lion skin” on occasions where things were stalled or when I inherited a low performing, demotivated team.
A word of caution though: overuse of autocratic leadership style can hinder employee motivation, creativity, and collaboration. As humans we crave inclusion, and a sense of belonging, and in my experience we should adopt the “lion” approach sparingly.
Dolphin — the democratic leader
Our next stop is the land down under, off the coasts of New Zealand. Say hello to the dolphins! Dolphins are species of toothed whales that are well known for their intelligence. In contrast to the lion, dolphins work in groups (called pods), and are highly sociable mammals. They show empathic, cooperative and altruistic behaviors, and develop strategies together.
This is the democratic leadership style which emphasizes collaboration and shared decision-making. Leaders who adopt this style actively seek input from their team members, valuing their opinions and expertise. By involving team members in decision-making processes, democratic leaders foster a sense of ownership and empowerment.
This approach enhances employee engagement, boosts morale, and promotes a culture of inclusivity and innovation. However, this style can be time consuming, and is not suitable in situations where you need to move fast and make quick decisions.
In my experience, this style should be used for high-level strategic decisions, those that have long-term impact and can therefore benefit from additional validation. However, when it comes to day to day decisions, the teams should be empowered to make their decisions without getting delayed by some process.
Ant — the transformational leader
Now, let’s make our way back to Africa, in Zambia, and explore one of the giant ant hills this country is famous for. Have you ever seen an army of ants build hills on the sand? The ant mound has three major purposes. The mound serves as the entrance to the below ground nest; the mound helps control the nest’s internal temperature; and it helps protect the nest from predators or other intruders that might damage or destroy the nest.
Such meticulous planning and execution requires dedication of not one but thousands and millions of ants. Such coordinated effort is only possible when there is alignment on the vision, and is an example of transformational leadership.
Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their teams to reach their full potential. These leaders are visionary, articulate their goals clearly, and inspire their team members to align their efforts with the overall vision. By offering support, guidance, and opportunities for personal and professional growth, transformational leaders create a highly motivated and committed workforce. They foster a culture of innovation, encourage creativity, and empower individuals to take ownership of their work. However, the transformational style requires strong communication skills and the ability to create buy-in from team members. Imagine what would happen if the millions of ants didn’t coordinate and align on their goal. There would be utter chaos. Ouch.
Examples of transformation leaders in history are Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. Each of these leaders rallied their supporters and led them towards their shared vision, their shared beliefs, and ultimately led to a revolution in their respective worlds. These mass movements are not possible without a leader who not only has a vision of his own, but is also able to get thousands or millions of strangers to get behind that vision. That is the power of transformational leadership.
Wolf — the transactional leader
Let’s end our tour by making our way to the far north to Siberia, and meet the Wolf. Wolves are known to protect their strongest, and kill their weakest. Ruthless as it may seem, this behavior helps wolves to survive and thrive in a competitive environment with limited resources.
This is an example of transactional leadership, which is based on a system of rewards and punishments. Leaders that use this approach lay out specific goals for their teams and devise methods of rewarding those who achieve them. On the flip side, they take action when standards aren’t met. This style of leadership is useful in situations where structure and regularity is required, and the nature of the work is transactional. However, since it is so dependent on external incentives, it runs the risk of stifling initiative and originality.
Adolf Hitler, the famous Nazi leader who is considered the main responsible for the Holocaust that led to millions of innocent deaths during World War II, demonstrated the transactional leadership style. That said, transactional leadership style may be useful in some situations, such as those where the nature of the job is manual or labor intensive and the only source of incentive to work and deliver is external. In such situations, transaction leadership is appropriate in order to achieve the business outcomes.
Conclusion
One size does not fit all when it comes to leadership. The most successful leaders are those who are able to modify their approach based on the needs of the group they are tasked with guiding. So, you need to be lion, a dolphin, an ant or a wolf depending on the situation. At times, you may need to be adopt multiple styles simultaneously.
“The best leaders don’t know just one style of leadership — they’re skilled at several, and have the flexibility to switch between styles as the circumstances dictate.”
— Daniel Goleman
The trick is to strike a good balance, play to the strengths of each approach, and coordinate your leadership style with the requirements and objectives of your team.
So, which animal traits resonate with your leadership style, and your boss’s? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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