Team Work Inspired by Nature
The Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling said, "For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack." A workplace may be rich and colourful with talented team members, but it can lack cohesion and be weak if there is no shared purpose and leadership.
Nature gives us many fantastic insights into building effective, structured, and cohesive teams that perform optimally and sustainably
Teams work for a common purpose, with members understanding their individual functions, responsibilities, contributions, strengths, and limitations and the team’s success is dependent on its unified efforts. John Dickinson said, “united we stand, divided we fall”.
Here are some things we can learn from the teamwork of nature:
- Geese fly in a V formation reducing wind resistance enabling them to travel over long distances reaching their destination ‘on time’. Empowering our teams to work together and support each other will deliver desired timely outcomes.
– A beehive exists because the queen, drones, and workers function for the survival of the hive. With a shared purpose and values teams thrive and in times of change exercise resilience.
- Elephants travel in herds relying on the wisdom and guidance of the matriarch to find food and water. When team players have a growth rather than fixed mindset and are willing to follow their leader, they feel secure and the opportunities to grow are boundless.
- A pride of lions hunts together relying on their coalition to achieve a tactical outcome. When teams deploy strategy, they have direction and focus.
Teams need leaders they follow willingly, seek guidance from and feel supported by. Teams expect their leaders to have a bird’s eye view of the ‘big picture’, keep them focused, empower them to achieve their purpose and to meet the expectations of the business. Teams want to respect their leaders and their knowledge, work and moral ethics, and their people management skills.
Teams are a collective of people with diverse talents, shared values and a common purpose. Do you have a cohesive high functioning team? If you would like support for your team, our team at RIPPLE is ready to assist you.