What Nature Can Teach Us About Building Better Business Teams
- Oct 26, 2023
- 4 min read
Written by: Julia Felton, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As a passionate advocate for nature, I've always marvelled at the incredible lessons Mother Earth has to offer. In our quest to improve business performance, I encourage you to look to nature and how its timeless wisdom can be applied to improving business teams. Nature, the ultimate teacher, has shown us the way for millions of years. We can learn from the interconnected ecosystems, and in this article, I'll delve into the world of bioteaming. So, let's explore the lessons that nature imparts to us about building effective teams and their relevance to the dynamic world of business.
Bioteaming: Where nature's wisdom meets business excellence
Nature has been experimenting with teams for eons, and some of its most successful bioteams include single-celled organisms, the human immune system, social insects like ants, and even large animals like dolphins. What's apparent is that everything in nature is interconnected, and it works systematically for the betterment of our planet. Let's explore these lessons further.
1. Collective and shared leadership
In nature, leadership is a shared responsibility. No one member exclusively leads a group. Take the example of geese migrating in their iconic V-formation. The leadership role rotates as geese take turns to lead. This shared leadership ensures the success of the entire flock.
Likewise, in a herd of horses, every member plays a role in ensuring the group's safety. When danger looms, any horse can signal it and lead the herd to safety without the need for a lengthy boardroom discussion.
Application to Business: In today's fast-paced, ever-changing business landscape, having a single leader in a traditional command-and-control structure is impractical. Instead, embracing shared leadership, where everyone works toward a shared purpose, fosters trust and respect within the team. Egos must be left behind to ensure collective success.
2. Instant messaging
In nature, groups use short and simple instant messages. These messages are usually informational alerts, not orders. Ants, for instance, communicate through chemical pheromones, while bees perform a waggle dance to share information about new food sources.
Application to Business: Shifting the communication dynamic to one where not every message requires a response can revolutionize businesses. It empowers every team member to communicate their concerns, potentially reducing the endless meetings that plague many organizations.
3. Ecosystem: Small is beautiful... but big is powerful
Nature adapts the size of a group based on the task at hand. Large groups achieve coordinated actions by having everyone do the same thing simultaneously, like a flock of birds. On the other hand, small groups like a pride of lions divide and conquer through a coordinated approach and division of labor.
Application to Business: Recognize that one size does not fit all when it comes to team dynamics. Teams need to be fluid and change in size depending on the task. Small groups are ideal for innovation, while larger groups are more suitable for scaling operations.
4. Clustering: Engaging through a few
Nature's networks are clustered, with some nodes having more connections than others. Think of a tree with its main branches, each leading to clusters of smaller branches and leaves, allowing the tree to engage more effectively with its environment.
Application to Business: Just as in nature, some individuals in business are better connected than others. To engage effectively with the wider community, we should leverage these connectors and influencers instead of creating new connections from scratch.
Nature as our blueprint for modern team building
Business, like nature, is an ecosystem where everything is interconnected. Our survival as businesses depends on how we interact with the elements around us. The command and control structures of the past are no longer applicable in today's world. We need a new blueprint for leading our teams, and nature has been perfecting this blueprint for millions of years.
As we navigate this era of connections and engagement, nature's wisdom can guide us toward creating more effective team structures. Embracing shared leadership, instant messaging, adaptability in team size, and leveraging existing networks can lead us to success in our ever-evolving business landscape.
So, let's take a cue from Mother Nature and apply her timeless wisdom to build teams that thrive, just as ecosystems in the wild have for millions of years. In doing so, we can foster a more sustainable, interconnected, and effective business world.
Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook and visit my website for more on leadership and reinventing business. I also invite you to download my free eBook on Leading Teams Through Uncertainty and check out my latest book – Unbridled Business – on Amazon.
Julia Felton, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower, a leadership and team engagement company. She is passionate about disrupting the status quo and discovering new ways to run and lead businesses, so they are fit for purpose in the 21st century. She believes that a model on how to reinvent business exists in nature and herds of horses that embrace the principles of connection, collaboration, and community to work effectively together. By aligning purpose with actions, the team achieves exponential results because everyone starts pulling in the same direction and feels inspired to show up for work every day, knowing they are making a difference in the world. Julia is a leading authority on Unbridled Leadership. The author of two books, Unbridled Business: Unlocking Nature’s Wisdom To Reinvent Leadership & Unbridled Success: How The Secret Lives of Horses Can Impact Leadership, Teamwork & Communication. She is the host of IMPACTFUL: The Podcast and a C-Suite and CEO Mentor, consultant, trainer, and speaker.
