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Leadership Tip of the Month

February 2006

Copyright 2006 ã weLEAD, Inc.

Consider the Ant…

Over 3000 years ago the author of the ancient book of Proverbs observed, "Go watch the ants, you lazy person. Watch what they do and be wise." (Proverbs 6:6 NCV). It seems that researchers at the University of Bristol, England have been following this sage advice! Recently, scientists in the south coast of England have been observing the social habits of ants foraging for food between rocks. What they have discovered can provide some important lessons in leadership. Here were some of their observations…

In seeking food, ants appeared to have both followers and leaders. As the follower ants learned a new route by memorizing landmarks, they tapped the leaders with their antennae encouraging them to proceed to the next step. The leader ants appeared to actually be teaching the followers how to locate the food and remember its setting. The leader and follower were running together in tandem and this action also involved bidirectional feedback between pupil and teacher. According to Nigel Franks, professor of animal behavior and ecology, "Within the field of animal behavior, we would say an animal is a teacher if it modifies behavior in the presence of another, at cost to itself, so another individual can learn more quickly."

Those researchers who spent countless hours studying the videotape of these ants believe that Temnothorax Albipennis may be the very first example of a nonhuman animal exhibiting teaching behavior. What are some reasons they came to this conclusion? If the leader ants raced directly to the food on their own, they arrived four times faster than if they had a follower tagging along with them. Leading and teaching the followers to memorize landmarks and to communicate by tapping their antennae was a much slower process. Occasionally some leader ants even grabbed the followers by the mouth and dragged them to the source of the food! This example was three times faster than having a follower tag along. Yet, the leaders appeared willing to modify the behavior of other ants at the personal cost of slowing down their own efficiency and effectiveness.

Furthermore the ants seemed to use a pedagogical approach to teaching. The lessons they used were highly interactive and proceeded at a pace determined by the follower's ability to learn and progress to the next step. If the gap between the leader and follower was too close, the leader accelerated its pace. If the gap was too long, the leader slowed down. This observation from the insect world can remind us of some valuable leadership qualities in the human world.

1. Great leaders are diligent mentors who are willing to sacrifice their time and talents to teach others. They are more interested in doing things right than in just doing things quickly. They view success from a long-term perspective rather than the short-term.

2. Effective leadership is the result of constant communication and interaction. Where there is transparency… there is increased trust.

3. A caring leader is one who teaches others at a pace that can be adjusted by the follower's ability to learn. It is important to be sensitive enough to know when patience is required to reinforce a lesson, or to know when you can go to the next level.

Nature can teach us a lot about ourselves and the world around us. The next time you walk by an ant hill, stop for a few minutes and observe their social behavior. Take some time to consider the ant and the things we can learn from their example.

For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas reminding you that it was Albert Einstein who once said, “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”.