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Be more meerkat to improve your teamwork
A really good team can achieve amazing things. A bad team finds it hard to achieve anything effectively. Animals that use teamwork can’t afford to be bad at it – if they don’t work as a team, it really is a case of life or death. So what can we learn from animals when we decide to work collaboratively?
Ducks and geese fly in a V formation, which scientists estimate can allow the flock to go 70% further than flying individually, without using any extra energy. Each bird knows its place in the formation, reducing wind resistance and increasing lift. Geese go one step further and rotate their formation leaders. When the bird in front becomes tired, it falls to the back and allows another bird to take the lead.
Meerkats are famed for their teamwork skills. They are particularly good communicators (a lesson every good team should learn!) Sentry meerkats have a vocabulary of over 30 distinct calls that alert the rest of the clan to any potential dangers. The adults also take the time to train younger, less experienced meerkat pups as apprentice hunters. They give them the opportunity to contribute to the good of the team, albeit in a small way.
Published date: 26th August 2016
Sources:
terrapinadventures.com/2015/07/16/a-lesson-in-teamwork-from-the-animal-kingdom/
turningmanagersintoleaders.com/four-lessons-teamwork-meerkat/
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