Locking Humans in the Zoo – A Project Management and Intelligent Disobedience Story

My daughter Kelly is a zookeeper at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra, Australia. As I write this, Canberra is in lockdown due to an outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19. As a result, to ensure the zoo’s animals and the zookeepers are safe, Kelly and many of her colleagues are locked in the zoo with the animals!

?This unusual act – representative of intelligent disobedience – surfaced project management wisdom that’s worth sharing.

?Everyone’s a significant stakeholder – The zoo’s owner is demonstrating great stakeholder management, for the animals in his care and the people that care for those animals. The process of housing the zookeepers onsite isn’t cheap, but the zookeeper resource is viewed as vital. Every animal in the zoo has a name, and the zookeepers are expected to know the names and habits of each individual animal in their care so they can monitor diet, and behaviors to look for signs of illness. That may seem simple but think about how penguins and meerkats look like and that can be a significant challenge! On top of that, passing along the specific knowledge zookeepers have about the animal stakeholders isn’t trivial – they notice so many things due to their familiarity with each animal. The project management wisdom in this is – as the PM you can’t know all your stakeholders in detail, so you need to rely on and care for your team so they can appropriately support your stakeholders.

?Pre-planned contingency is invaluable – It’s a significant sacrifice for the zookeepers to live at the zoo. They are away from loved ones at home (both humans and their pets) and are working significant hours as a short-staffed team. Given that hardship and required logistics planning, the zookeeper lockdown was planned in advance just in case a lockdown occurred. Therefore, once the lockdown was declared the zookeeping team assembled at the zoo, suitcases in hand, that same day. The effectiveness of isolating the zookeepers at the zoo would have been diminished if this was planned as a reaction to the lockdown, as the keepers would have been circulating in the community for a few days, increasing the chances for exposure to the virus. Planning contingencies in advance can yield significantly better outcomes!

?Care for your team – In the event you are feeling sorry for these zookeepers, they aren’t exactly sleeping in the enclosures with the animals! The National Zoo and Aquarium is unique in that it has a 5-star resort in the zoo, with most of the rooms being integrated with an animal enclosure. The zookeepers are staying in quite a comfortable setting, and the chefs who serve 5-star meals to go along with the accommodation are still working. The zoo’s owner is caring for staff who care for the animals that make the zoo a special place to visit. Good project managers understand when their team members are making sacrifices and try to make it as easy as possible to navigate difficult times.

?Leverage your resources – The zoo hotel resources are being fully used to help the zoo navigate a challenging time. The animals are being cared for, and many are also being entertained in the absence of zoo visitors to keep them intellectually stimulated. The zoo hasn’t gone into a “minimal care” model to save money – they are thinking of the short- and long-term outcomes and applying resources wisely. The best project managers do the same thing - while being mindful of short-term costs, they look for approaches to provide the best outcomes in the long run.

?Additional tips for navigating life and projects can be found in my book Intelligent Disobedience: The Difference Between Good and Great Leaders and my Leading with Intelligent Disobedience course on LinkedIn Learning. It’s one of over 20 courses I have on the LinkedIn Learning platform. You can access the course via this link: https://www.dhirubhai.net/learning/leading-with-intelligent-disobedience/what-is-intelligent-disobedience?resume=false&u=2125562

Not a member of LinkedIn Learning? You’ll get to view the introduction to the course and will be given the opportunity to get a free trial which will give you access to the entire LinkedIn Learning Library of courses.?