Are you keen on understanding what is animal leadership? In this post, we deep dive into this leadership style, its characteristics, and examples.
Animal leadership
We become leaders through hard work, commitment, and experience. Some humans are natural leaders, while others gradually evolve into the role. In the last few years, biologists and anthropologists are trying to understand human leadership qualities by studying animal leadership. Animal leaders influence, guide, and communicate with their followers. They are responsible for the safety of their tribe.
Have you asked the question: What animal am I? –You may at times wonder, what animal am I? This question allows you to analyze yourself by thinking about the qualities you possess. Start by making a listing out your qualities and thinking about what makes you unique. After you have compiled your list think of animals that have similar traits. Some great animal choices would be –
- Fox for being wily, clever, and strategic but can be dishonest.
- Tigers are intelligent, independent, and quick thinking.
- Lions are strong leaders, determined, and dedicated.
- Monkeys are intelligent and nimble. They are great team players and can think out of the box.
Also read: How to become a charismatic leader [with examples]
What is animal leadership?
Animal leadership is not given to the leader on a platter. The leader has to earn the leadership, and they remain so till they die. The leader decides on the team hierarchy, and their subordinates accept leadership without question. Most animals have a black and white understanding of leadership.
Like humans, disputes and disruptions can affect the chain of leadership. Their experience gives them an edge.
Characteristics like charisma and family links had little relevance. Women leaders did not play a prominent role till the 20 century. But in the animal kingdom females, often call the shots. Mammals like lions and foxes have a genuine understanding of leadership. Studying their behavior may help us become better leaders.
Animal personality test
Experts classify the animal kingdom into hunters and prey. Behaviorist feels human behavior exhibit similar traits. The animal personality test helps us learn more about ourselves. The tests answer the question what kind of animal are you? Every animal has its strengths and weaknesses. Your animal personality will reveal quite a lot about your personality.
You can utilize these strengths to succeed. You do not have to be a predator to succeed in business. The test can help you learn more about your colleagues, and give you clues to handle them better. Use animal personality tests to identify potential leaders. Some common personality test animals are the spirit animal survey and the Mayers Brings test.
Also read: John Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership explained
10 Personality traits of animals
Animals have unique personality traits. Some animal traits closely mirror human behavior. Researchers studying animal personality have identified five main characteristics – aggression, courage, social, and active. Understanding personality traits have given may help humans understand and manage nature. The insight will also help you understand more about animal leadership.
1. Qualities of a lion
Lions are the king of the jungle. There are several qualities of a lion that make them capable leaders. Lions are protective and are willing to fight to protect their territory, mates, cubs, pride, and themselves. They are hunters and fight for what they need.
They can delegate and not micromanage. Lions sleep for several hours a day and trust the task will be handled effectively. They will not worry about the outcome of what will happen.
They are equitable partners in the animal kingdom when it comes to eating. They leave enough leftovers for their pride and other scavenger animals and birds.
2. Animal leaders in horse herd
Horses have complicated and hierarchical herd dynamics. The herd must choose the animal leaders carefully to stay safe from predators. The herd leader is the strongest member of the herd, and they compete for the position daily. The leader needs to reinforce their position, and lead their herd consistently.
As leaders, the horse needs to be aware of their surroundings. They use awareness to search for food and to stay safe from predators. The leaders learn to conserve their energy. They assert their authority by a simple twitch of their ear or nod. Animal leadership in horses does not need to through their weight around.
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3. Leadership qualities of an eagle
We have always been fascinated by eagles. Eagle’s eyes are designed for long-distance focus with clarity. Their eyesight is four to eight stronger than normal humans.
Their keen eyesight helps them hunt successfully. As hunters, they have to stay patient and focused during the hunt. They do not lose focus on the prey even if they are flying high.
Eagles are fearless and are willing to fight to defeat prey or defend their territory. They can prey on animals that are larger and stronger than them. Though aggressive, eagles are great at nurturing their young.
Eagles are tenacious defenders. They use their claws to defend themselves. They are known to use strong wind currents to fly higher.
4. Leadership lesson from wolves
Animal leadership lessons from wolves give us management insights. Wolves travel in packs and understand the importance of sticking together to survive.
The wolves have a hierarchical structure, alpha male and female lead their packs and are responsible for protecting their pack, and hunting. Alpha leaders do not lead by fear or anger, but with gentle sternness and confidence. They use a calm presence, rather than disruption and chaos.
Wolves can get things done by sharing the workload. The tasks get evenly delegated. The wolf pack knows that teams that stick together, are aware of roles and responsibilities, and communicate effectively have a higher chance of success.
5. Baboons are alpha male animals
There is a clear dominance hierarchy or pecking order seen in the social interaction of some animals. In social groups of animals, the animals compete for limited resources and mating opportunities. Rather than fighting all the time, baboons establish a relative ranking by members of the same sex. The dominant animals are called alpha male animals.
The alpha male baboon is the most powerful and influential. There are rules which subordinate baboons have to follow. If anyone disobeys the rules, there are harsh consequences. Discipline is nonnegotiable. The alpha baboon is responsible for protecting its followers from dangerous situations. They are not afraid to stand their ground and willingly risk personal safety for the safety of others.
Also read: 8 philosophies of great leaders [with templates]
6. Sheepdogs are bossy animals
Some experts consider sheepdogs are bossy animals. Initially, the sheepdog forcibly maneuvers the sheep. The sheepdog displays animal leadership by ensuring the sheep in their command stay safe. They move deliberately, having an objective and knowing how to reach it.
Sheepdogs generally lead from behind, letting one sheep assume the front role, as long as it operates within acceptable parameters. After a few successful trips, the sheepdog lets the sheep lead the flock under supervision. Sheep are not scared of the dog but respect it. The sheepdog will step in if there is a conflict or attack. They interfere only if the sheep goes off course.
7. Animal personality characteristics
Any pet owner will tell you that animals have personalities. Research on animals indicates individual differences in animal species. Five factors that describe human personality are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. In animals personality characteristics can explain the difference in dominance rank, coping, cognitive abilities, and physiology. Animal personality characteristics measures are exploration, activity, aggressiveness, sociability, and boldness.
Researchers think animals like gorillas and chimpanzees display human factor consciousness. Animal personality is not static and adapts to changing environments. Their response to the environment may be short-term or long-term. Temperament is used to describe the personality of farm animals.
8. Chimpanzee leadership animals
Dominant male rule chimpanzee tribe. The chimpanzee leadership animals climb up the hierarchy chain. Male chimpanzee leaders maintain their leadership through strength and intimation. The leader has emotional intelligence and knows how to keep everyone happy.
The alpha leader knows the importance of building alliances. To retain power, he carefully manages his relationship with other powerful males. They try to build a large and steady alliance to manage their clan. They spend a lot of time with one another and back each other in fights. They use the alliance to cement their leadership. The animal leadership of bullies is short-lived.
Also read: What is laissez-faire leadership; its importance [with examples]
9. Elephants are animals that represent leadership
Elephants are animals that represent leadership. Elephants move around in a herd. Alpha female leader leads the herd. Unlike many leaders in the animal kingdom, the matriarch leads the elephant tribe by strength, social intelligence, problem-solving skills, patience, and compassion.
Elephants are intelligent have a good long-term memory. The leader remembers crucial information about the location of water and food sources. They communicate well by taking inputs and avoiding mistakes.
Successful matriarch maintains ties relationships with all members of the herd. They are open to suggestions at the time of crises but are the final decision-makers. They are decisive about their decisions.
10. Animal leadership in queen bees
The queen bee is the matriarch in the hive. The queen lay on the eggs to ensure the future survival of her colony. There is a lot to learn from animal leadership in bees. The worker bees entrust the queen to protect the future as she protects the eggs.
Bee colonies operate by decentralizing authority. The main queen bee transfers authority, to the local leader in smaller groups. Dividing the leadership, the groups can focus on their core job, leading to higher efficiency.
Though the queen bee is the head of the hive, worker bees evaluate her performance, and if her performance declines or is unsatisfactory, the worker bees start a succession plan in advance.
Also read: What is autocratic leadership & its importance [with examples]
How to find what animal are you?
Many of us wonder what animal am I like or which animal matches our personality?
Your inner animal reflects your personality, feeling, behavior towards others in different situations. Fortunately, we can control our behavior and emotions, and we make decisions at any time. There are many types of animal quiz on the internet.
There are different animal personality tests you can take like the 4 animal personality tests, the spirit animal test, or the Myers-Briggs animal personality quiz. Animals usually stay away from their predators. These tests may indicate the kind of people you should mix with and the kind of people you should avoid. It is important to answer these quizzes honestly as there are no right or wrong answers.
Shubha writes blogs, articles, off-page content, Google reviews, marketing email, press release, website content based on the keywords. She has written articles on tourism, horoscopes, medical conditions and procedures, SEO and digital marketing, graphic design, and technical articles. Shubha is a skilled researcher and can write plagiarism free articles with a high Grammarly score.
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