TEAMWORK: LEARNING FROM NATURE:Social Behavior, Termites, Learning from Nature

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Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Lecture 45

TEAMWORK: LEARNING FROM NATURE

Remember, at the end of lecture number 32, I gave you a point to think. Learning cooperation from

animals. My point was that even animals live and work like a team and cooperate with each others with

vision and objectives. Why can't human being the social animals live and work like team. Off course,

people do live, work and cooperate and deliver more than expected but for those who are not doing this

and to show them the importance of team work and leadership was the scope of this subject. The point

discussed at the end of lecture number 32 gave me an idea to dedicate this last lecture on this important

aspect of nature. Team work-learning from nature.

Nature is full of examples where we have lessons to learn, I tried to share with you some example from

nature where enough material, examples can be used to understand different concepts we tried to

covered in this subject "Leadership and Team Management".

We can observe from animal behavior the cooperation, dedication, teamwork and concept of leadership.

I have dedicated this last lecture of our course on this very important aspect. That is learning from

nature.

"Insights and hard work deliver results"

From this photograph you can the hard work and team work of ants.

Food for Thoughts

o Why can't we learn?

o Why can't we learn "Leadership and Team Management" from nature?

o Look at the universe. All are in a system

o Honey bees

o Termites

o Ants

o Sea world

Honeybees

Honeybees cannot get nectar in the winter so they must make plenty of honey to survive

Social Behavior

Honey bee: Highly organized social insect living in well developed colony (also called Hive).

We can observe division of labor in these honeybees.

o Queen: Real Queen: Mother of colony

o Worker:

Female: real worker of the colony

o Drone:

(Males) : Naqatoo: Just eat honey and breed

o Each colony have: 40-50 thousands individuals

o QUEEN: Guarded by attendants, allot duties to workers and supervise the activities:

o WORKERS:

Machinery of the colony and have assigned duties

o Indoor workers: sincere and attend Queen

o Nursery workers: Nursing and taking care of young ones

o Builder workers: produce wax for the formation new colony

o Repairers workers: Repairing the wear and tear of hive (comb)

o Cleaner workers: Involved in cleaning activities in hive

o Fanner: Fanning hive to provide fresh air performed with their wings

o Ware house : Storage and ripening of honey

OTHERS ACTIVIES OF THE HONEY BEES

o Absconding: Migration of whole colony: due to unfavorable climate like destruction of

comb by Termites, wax moths and scarcity of flower nectar.

o Swarming: Leaving off the colony by queen along with few workers and drone to form new

colony at new place

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Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

The roles identified among honey bees are important for colony cooperation, regulate hive temperature,

efficiency via specialization: division of labor in the colony, Communication etc and show how well

organize they are and also indicate their team work and leadership behavior.

Termites

o Cone-shaped outer walls and ventilation ducts

o Brood chambers in central hive

o Spiral cooling vents

o Support pillars

These small creature works together with proper distribution and division of labor. They tirelessly work

for cause and focus on work with.

Ants

o Organizing highways to and from their foraging sites by leaving pheromone trails

o Form chains from their own bodies to create a bridge to pull and hold leafs together with silk

o Division of labor between major and minor ants

Individual organisms often cooperate in ways that improve survival. Look in this picture and see how

ants form a bridge to facilitate team work.

An In-depth Look at Ant Behavior:

You might have observed the movement of ants for the food and they travel together in line and very

systematically. If you interrupt the Flow you will see that ants will try to overcome this interruption and

start using all sides to reach food.

With the passage of time, these small creatures start thinking and pick the shortest path to increase the

efficiency. You change the interruption; they will quickly adjust their path.

Learning from Nature

During my lecture, I also showed few shots/clips from movies. Showing different animals form land,

sea and birds kingdom. The point I was trying to make was the same philosophy of team work, moving

together, and threats of enemy, facing the dangerous situation and overcoming them as we the human

are facing every day in our lives. Staying together, working together by smaller animals to larger ones.

From sea to land and air all kind of animals exhibits similar cooperative and team work behavior.

In first clip, we can see the different creatures busy in their daily work focused in dynamic environment

along with all kinds of forces, dangers. Sticking together. Different types of animals and different

priorities. Accordingly they work together to achieve them

In second clippings, we can see the birds building their nest/home. You can see how focus they are to

achieve their objectives. They have motives, team work and vision. Even a small but skilled bird builds

the nest with proper technique.

Third clipping start with sea world. Small fish to large one they all move together, the sea lion shown

were also moving as a team. Similarly larger animals also exhibit behaviors we can see around us. They

move together, enjoy, work, relax etc with the similar approach. But the bottom line is the team work

and leadership in animal kingdoms and we the social animals often forget this.

The last clipping was also very interested. I have given this the title of "Coach". Leader's role is also as

a coach. In that clip, a bird was teaching his young one how to fly. Father slips himself on tree to teach

him confidence and technique to fly. After that we can see the young one taking risk and following the

father's instruction and going for his first flight.

All these examples were shown to encourage you to understand the concepts of team work and

leadership and to show that in the nature every thing is working in a system and with some philosophy

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Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

behind them. If we want to learn, we can have million of such examples around us in nature. We need

the wisdom to understand and apply these concepts in our real life.

Let me show you few more clips indicating different aspects of team work and leadership in nature that

is in reality which we tried to cover during this course.

I hope these examples from nature must have given you some feelings about this important aspects and

also motivations to apply this in your life.

Let me give you yet another very interesting example from nature.

You see the geese migrating; going to a warmer place, to sort the winter...They fly in a "V" formation.

Maybe this will help us to understand the leadership and team management....

By flying in a "V" formation.... The whole flock increases the flight efficiency by 71% Compared to

just one bird flying alone.

Lesson

Sharing the same direction and working as a team, get us to the destination quicker and easier.

When a goose leaves the formation.. He feels the resistance of the air and the difficulties of flying

alone.... Then, he quickly comes back to the formation to take advantage of the flock's power in front of

him.

Lesson

By staying in tune and united beside those who are going in the same direction, the effort will be less.

It will be easier and pleasing to reach the goals, everyone will be inclined to accept and give help.

When the leader goose gets tired of flying... ...He goes to the end of the "V" formation. While another

goose takes the lead.

Lesson

To share the leadership, there must be mutual respect between us all the time... Sharing the hardest

problems and tasks.....Gathering our abilities and combining our facilities, talents and resources....

The geese flying on a "V" formation, they quack to encourage to the ones in the front. In that way, they

keep the same speed.

Lesson

When there is courage and encouragement, the progress is greater....A timely word of encouragement,

always motivates, helps and strengthens.....It produces the best of benefits.

When a goose gets sick, is injured or gets tired, And he must leave the formation......Other geese leave

the formation too, and they fly with him to help him out and protect him. They remain with him until he

dies or he is able to fly again. They reach their bevy or they just make another "V" formation.

Lesson

Let's stay beside each other no matter what the differences. Especially in times of difficulty and great

challenges....

If we bond together and support each other......If we make true the spirit of teamwork....Regardless of

our differences, we can rise to meet our challenge. If we understand the real value of teamwork.....If we

are aware of the feeling of sharing.....LIFE WILL BE EASIER, THE PASSING OF YEARS MORE

FULFILLING AND A TEAM SUCESSFUL ..

Dear Students,

Let's Be Like These Geese!!!

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Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

What Can We Learn From Such Examples?

o Learning

o Cooperation

o Staying united

o Staying beside each others

o Supporting

o Mutual respect

o Combining abilities, talent and resources

o Encouraging

o Team work

o Coaching

o Leadership

Let's Start Understanding, Learning, implementing the concepts of Leadership and Team

Management.

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