Leadership Wisdom from the Animal Kingdom

Welcome to Love Mondays More! This is where the ideas from Love Mondays , (my weekly email newsletter), get a bit more room to stretch—diving into deeper stories, strategies, and tools to help you lead with intention and impact.

If you’re enjoying Love Mondays More, you won’t want to miss Love Mondays. It’s your Monday morning jumpstart — packed with personal insights, exclusive content, and a mini activation challenge to push you into action each week. Not to mention private community events!

Think of it as the little kick in the pants we all need sometimes. Because real change starts on a Monday. Join me and let’s make your Mondays (and your week) count.

What if I told you that some of the most enduring leadership lessons come not from boardrooms but from the wisdom of nature, where resilience and adaptability thrive?

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with Cate Blanchett —yes, the Cate Blanchett. Award-winning Actor, former artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company, UN Goodwill Ambassador, Earthshot Prize Council Member, and all-around powerhouse.?

As we explored what leadership looks like today, Cate shared a metaphor about buffalo, cows, and storms (stay with me—I'll explain in just a moment) that got me thinking about biomimicry —the practice of learning from nature’s strategies to solve human challenges.

From leadership to innovation, there’s a whole playbook in the natural world just waiting for us to take notice of the things we all too often take for granted. Businesses across industries—tech, design, architecture—have already been applying these lessons to build smarter, more sustainable solutions over the years.

And there’s a lot nature can teach us about leadership too. Let’s dive into a few examples from the animal kingdom that will inspire you to lead with more resilience, care, and purpose.

"Biomimicry is basically taking a design challenge, and then finding an ecosystem that's already solved the challenge, and literally trying to emulate what you learn." - Janine Beynus biologist and co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute.

1. The buffalo mindset: Charge toward the challenge together

Back to my discussion with Cate. She and I were talking about leadership, creativity, getting the best out of people, standing up for what you believe in and loads more. At one point, I asked her how she leads in a way that lifts others up. She responded with an unexpected—and unforgettable—metaphor involving cows, buffalo, and storms.

Here's how it goes:

On the Great Plains of North America, where both buffalo and cows roam, intense storms blow in unexpectedly. When cows sense a storm coming, they panic and try to outrun it. The problem is they run in the same direction the storm is heading so they get stuck in it far longer than necessary— and end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and no closer to safety.

Buffaloes, though, do something different. When a storm rolls in, they band together and run straight toward it. Head down, hooves pounding, they charge into the chaos as a unified herd. And because they face the storm head-on, they move through it faster.?

It’s a strategy we can all learn from. How often do we avoid challenges, hoping they’ll go away? Leaders, you know the drill—those tough conversations, messy decisions, or daunting projects you keep postponing? The longer you avoid them, the longer you stay stuck.

Leadership Takeaways:

• Normalise discomfort. Great leaders know that trying to outrun a challenge only makes it last longer. Instead of avoiding discomfort, they prepare their teams to confront it head-on and move through it faster.
• Collective action builds momentum. Strong leaders know that no one should weather a storm alone. They create environments where teams rally together, lean on each other, and push through challenges side by side.

The next time a challenge rolls in, don’t be a cow—be a buffalo. Show up, gather your people, and charge into the storm together. You’ll get through it faster—and come out stronger.

2. Geese: Share the load and look after each other

Have you ever noticed geese flying in a V-formation? There’s a reason for it. The goose at the front takes the hardest job—breaking the wind resistance for the others. When it gets tired, another goose takes the lead, and the first one drops back to rest. They rotate leadership to conserve energy, ensuring the whole flock makes it to their destination.

What’s even more beautiful? If one goose becomes too tired or injured to continue, two other geese will drop out of formation to stay with it until it’s ready to fly again.

Leadership Takeaways:

• Rotate responsibility. Great leaders know they can’t always be out front. They empower others to step up and lead, trusting that the team will keep moving forward.
• Build cultures of care. Leadership isn’t just about hitting goals—it’s about looking after your people. When someone’s struggling, strong teams rally around them until they’re ready to fly again.

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a page from the geese. Hand off the lead, let someone else step up—and make sure you’re doing the same for others when they need it. You’ll get further, faster, when you share the load.

3. Bees: Purpose-driven communities with clear roles

Bees are the original purpose-driven community. Every bee in the hive has a clear role—workers gather nectar, drones fertilise queens, and guards protect the colony. They each know exactly how their individual tasks contribute to the survival and success of the hive.

And if that wasn’t cool enough, bees have a sophisticated way of communicating—the “waggle dance.” Yep, they literally dance to show others where to find the best nectar. Talk about aligned messaging… no PowerPoint presentations or lengthy meetings required ;)?

Leadership Takeaways:

• Clarify roles and purpose. Great leaders ensure everyone on their team knows their role and how it contributes to the bigger mission. Purpose creates alignment, and alignment creates momentum.
• Communicate clearly and consistently. Just like bees, successful teams rely on clear communication channels to stay focused and avoid duplication of effort.

Ask yourself: Does your team know how their roles fit into the bigger picture? Are you communicating clearly enough to keep everyone aligned and on the same page? If not, it might be time to learn a few moves from the bees.

Nature has shown us the way—are you ready to follow? Let’s see what happens when you lead with nature’s wisdom this week!

Check out this video featuring Janine Benyus , the biologist and writer behind the biomimicry design movement. As co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute—a non-profit that inspires innovators to learn from nature—Benyus champions the idea that many of today’s toughest challenges in design, engineering, and sustainability have already been solved through 3.8 billion years of evolution.