Diversity of Opinion in the Boardroom: Lessons from Research on Chicken Behavior

Any organization, including the boardroom, needs diversity of thinking to succeed. It incorporates a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ways of thinking and extends beyond typical diversity markers like color, gender, and ethnicity. Recent research on chicken behavior has challenged preconceived views of intelligence and taught important leadership lessons by highlighting the value of diverse thought in decision-making processes.

Chickens are not simply stupid animals, despite what many people think. According to a number of studies, chickens have traits like self-control, individual personalities, and logical reasoning that are similar to those of mammals. For instance, a 2021 study in the journal "Science" discovered that hens can practice self-control by postponing satisfaction in order to obtain a greater food reward. Both in the boardroom and the barnyard, decision-making processes benefit from having individuals who can control their impulsive behavior and make smart decisions based on potential outcomes.?

In addition, studies have revealed that chickens have unique personalities. According to a study that was published in "Animal Behaviour" in 2022, chickens have distinct personalities based on the persistent behavioral variations they show. While some hens are more cautious and risk-averse, others are more intrepid and exploratory. This variety in personalities results in various problem-solving, risk assessment, and decision-making strategies, which can help to facilitate more thorough and sensible decision-making in the boardroom.?

Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that chickens are capable of logical reasoning. Chickens can do logical reasoning tasks like transitive inference, which includes drawing conclusions about the relationships between various items based on their relative placements, according to a study that was published in "Science Advances" in 2020. This capacity for logical reasoning raises the possibility that hens possess sophisticated cognitive abilities that could provide novel insights and creative solutions to the boardroom.

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What can business leadership learn about chicken behavior from these research, then? The necessity of welcoming variety of thinking in the boardroom holds the key to the solution. Humans, like chickens, have distinctive viewpoints, life experiences, and ways of thinking that might help us make better decisions. Boards may tap into the collective wisdom of their members and make better decisions by creating an inclusive atmosphere that values varied viewpoints, ideas, and methods.?

Diverse perspectives in the boardroom can have a number of advantages. First off, it can encourage fresh ideas and creativity by bringing together various viewpoints that question the established quo. Different points of view can spark more in-depth debates and foster critical thinking, which can result in more original solutions to difficult challenges. Second, by taking into account a greater variety of options and possible outcomes, it helps enhance risk assessment and decision-making. Diverse viewpoints can aid in reducing biases, identifying blind spots, and improving the entire decision-making process. Finally, it can encourage improved stakeholder representation by ensuring that different stakeholders' interests, including as those of employees, clients, shareholders, and communities, are taken into account when making decisions.?

See some articles for your musing below:?

1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/animal-emotions/201701/the-world-according-intelligent-and-emotional-chickens?
2. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/01/04/chickens-might-have-machiavellian-tendencies/?
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5306232/?
4. https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/blogs/inner-lives-chickens-intelligence-self-control-and-empathy