Animal Firm refers to Orwell’s classic book Animal Farm, in which authoritarian pigs are the boss. An Animal Firm is based on international research into High Performance Organizations (HPO) and High Performance Teams. In this article we link the HPO success factors of excellent performance to strong animal characteristics. And what we discovered? That ‘dumb geese’, ‘tactless elephants’ and ‘barking dogs’ perform better. It has since been proven that reorganizations, high bonuses and more checklists do not help people perform better. Our study among High Performance Organizations showed that success depends on other factors. Interestingly, many animals appear to instinctively demonstrate this behavior.
But how do you cleverly organize such animal behavior? How do you control it? It is quite simple actually. Simply go on safari and study the Big Five of animal behaviors to create your own High Performance Teams!
The five main animals:
1. The respectable Elephant
The oldest and most experienced elephant is the leader of the group. This person may act as the manager of the group. They will show refined leadership skills and help to guide the rest of the herd or group. Other people will follow the lead and learn from the expertise of the leader. In a safari group, it is the main leader that decides for the rest of the group. They will decide on when the team stops for a drink or a rest, what they say everyone follows and does as well. The way that an animal group works and a team may be the same. With the older guiding and leading the younger group and generations.
A manager role may have many functions. The role of a successful leader will have the trust of their team. When they are able to role model proper behavior and choice making, they can look into the future using long and well planned out goals.
2. The African Wild Dog
This particular animal has been seen in nature to motivate the rest of the group. They want their team mates to be successful and will use encouragement and advice to push everyone to the top. The older of the group will coach the younger ones and highlight how the longer of the goals are more important than short term tasks.
A good manager will always look at the long term picture. They will look at the big picture when making choices. Long term goals and insight may take priority over short term goals. Customers, society, suppliers, employees, government officials and social groupings can be taken care of through long term goal setting.
3. The Ant
Ants work continuously to share knowledge in order to become more effective as a group. Every ant in the colony takes on the role of master or companion. If an ant has specific knowledge, such as about a food source, he is automatically the master. He conveys this knowledge to the other ants, the companions. Ants make mistakes, but learn from each other how to do better. They are sensitive to nonverbal communication and link it directly to action.
A successful HPO manager creates an open culture in which everyone is involved often in important processes, communicates with one another, shares knowledge continuously, learns from mistakes, encourages change and takes action to improve performance.
4. The Crow and the Titmouse
The Titmouse is an animal that is always searching for something new. They are clever, smart and innovative. They want change and seek it all the time. Their spark for learning and discovering new things is an important trait for anyone in the business world. Combined with the crow who proves that improving performance can come from hard work and creative measures. Staying curious could help to keep a company moving forward without stopping.
A great HPO manager is someone who can push their team to their fullest potential. They will not rest until everyone is pushing their own weight and striving for the absolute best. Improving situations, learning from mistakes and creating ongoing plans may be the way that a team leader would like to see their group.
5. On the Savannah there is the; wildebeest, giraffe, ostrich and zebra
This group of animals will stay together no matter what. The Wildebeest, zebra, ostrich and giraffe, are animals that will develop a strong group that work hard together. This group will ensure that team work plays a hard role in keeping everyone safe. Predators may be waiting and searching to take down the weak and old. It is up to the entire group to ensure that everyone protects each other from harm.
A successful manager creates diverse and complementary teams on all levels of the organization.
Setting to work with your own Animal Firm!
Lead just like the elephants, keep running such as the African wild dogs. Learn from each other like the ants do. Stay organized and challenged such as the crows and titmice. Stay together in a group such as the zebras, giraffes, ostriches and wildebeests do. Ensuring that all of the animals are covered in a workforce will help to create the perfect Animal Firm. When you think about the animals in Animal Farm, do you see any that represent who you are? Can you relate any of the personalities to some of your team mates? How can the animal inside you and your coworkers be brought out using these methods and innovative thinking tools?
Begin working with coworkers to create a new high performance animal firm.
Want to find out more about High Performance Teams, then visit Dr. Andre de Waal and Marco Schreurs’s site on how to choose the best High Performance Animal Firm scan for your needs.