I’ve been saying Pula as much as possible since returning from Botswana. Pula translates to “prosperity and abundance”.  The hippos, elephants, warthogs, giraffes, and high-water flow from Angola’s rivers are the obvious examples of Botswana’s abundance.

What if we associated prosperity and abundance with money and with the joy of close relationships and transformative experience?

Simple question.

In our culture money is money and more money is better. Huh.

I’d rather have prosperity and abundance.

While taking a group of tourists in an open Land Rover, through the savannah to look for lions on the hunt he gets lost. This is a big deal. Lost. At night. In the wild.

No roads. No streetlights. No phones. No way to be found. And the wild in Africa means lions and other cats, who hunt at night, and hyenas who hunt at night. A few other creatures feed at night and may not intend to harm you, but you don’t want to get in their way either. The rhino, hippo and water buffalo fall into that category.

Truly lost at night in the open savannah is dangerous and frightening.

What did the experienced guide Victor do?

He calmly told everyone he was lost and asked if anyone knew the way back towards camp.

Pretty shocking, isn’t it? Think about your experiences in companies, organizations or teams. When did you see a leader admit ignorance and ask for timely help? When were you leading and felt completely, utterly lost?

As an aside, I spent hours searching on-line for good content about leadership (see link to Leading Blog here and above). I found  little, and almost none mentioned trust. We are experiencing an extreme violation of public and private trust right now. I was impressed with this story because it perfectly demonstrates elemental leadership.

Here’s what the experience taught me about Victor and other good leaders:

• The leader’s sense of responsibility for the team is held above ego. Victor asked for help because he knew his first, and most important responsibility was to keep the group safe. The corporate parallel could be having the team succeed, or furthering others’ careers.
• The leader is chosen, in part, because of expertise. Tourists selected him and decided to trust him because of his experience and reputation.
• The leader seeks input. Victor’s no fool. He quickly recognized that someone in the group might know the way and asked for participation.
• The leader is decisive.
• The leader establishes trust and maintains it. Victor built trust with the group through his expertise. He maintained it by asking for help at the right time.

Victor had the chance to prove his worthiness to lead again. Two nights later I found myself 6 feet away from a male elephant, who was not pleased to see me. My first elephant standoff.

The good news for you readers is I returned full of stories and videos! I’ll start with the most popular of creatures – the big cats.

Each of the big cats in Africa – the lion, cheetah and leopard is remarkably different in behavior and hunting success.

Which one are you?

The lion is quite a social creature. Lions live in groups, the females work together to raise young, which are birthed simultaneously, and to hunt. Lions hunt together, but are not coordinated hunters. They mostly hunt at night and sport a hunt success rate of 20-30%.

The cheetah, of course, is known as the fastest cat. In the next video, notice the particularly fluffy end of the tail. That acts like a spoiler on race cars, allowing the cheetah to make sharp turns at high speeds. Yet, for all that speed its success rate is about the same as the lions. Speed doesn’t add additional advantage. Cheetahs can be chased away from a kill by larger cats.

And the leopard. Larger than a cheetah, more clever than a lion. The leopard lives a solitary life. Its kill rate is about 50%, making it the most successful hunter of the large cats. It’s secret? Stealth and strength. It approaches undetected and uses powerful jaws and claws to subdue. Dragging kill into the trees, away from thieving lions and hyenas, is another advantage.

Which style do those you work with adopt – aggression like the lion, speed like the cheetah or stealth and isolation like the leopard? What are the differences between their style and yours? How does that impact your ability to succeed?

Interested in cheetahs, leopards and lions? The Cheetah Conservation Fund and Amani Lodge work with cats and rehabilitate them into the wild.

Stay tuned for more on the lion, leadership, the wisdom of elephants, and prosperity!