Lessons in Leadership and Followership from Namibia
Zebras and Elephants, Oh My!
This past summer, we travelled to Namibia: three extraordinary weeks of wildlife, wild places, and wildly insightful people. I expected to be amazed by the safaris and stark beauty of the land. But I didn’t expect to come home emboldened with our work in leadership and followership.
Here are a few lessons from elephants, zebras, and the remarkable people who care for them.
1. Leadership Is Fluid and It Works Better That Way
Whether elephants or zebras, we learned that leadership was nuanced: leadership flowed based on experience, need, context, and capability. A young, pregnant female might take charge one day; an experienced elder the next. Sometimes a passive member stayed passive. Sometimes the group needed the old “emeritus director” to step back in.
Leadership wasn’t a title. Leadership wasn’t fixed. It was a role that moved to whoever the group needed most in that moment.
2. Followership Is Real, Vital, and Everywhere (Even in Zebras)
Our cousin - a true zebra expert with over 16,000 documented observations - kept challenging the traditional narrative: stallions “fight for their harems”. Her response: “Bullshit.” Her data showed something entirely different.
Groups of mares select stallions through something that looks suspiciously like a rigorous hiring process. Sometimes they take two stallions “on probation.” Once a new stallion is chosen, his job is to lead in the protection of the herd. But the rest of the time he follows and then the eldest mare leads. Or sometimes a bold youngster takes charge.
Followership - who follows whom, when, and why - shifts constantly.
Just like leadership. It’s a system, not a hierarchy. And without followership, there was no leadership.
3. Healthy Cultures Treat People as Individuals, Not Roles
Gondwana is one of Namibia’s top tourist companies: an employer with a culture that won us over.
At one of their properties, the Desert Grace Lodge (made entirely out of Namib Desert sand!), we met Lily, a manager who took off her badge and promptly cooked me a special vegan breakfast to make sure I had enough vegetables. Later we met Marcelino - porter, manager, master pizza maker, proud vegetable grower. His words captured the whole culture: “Everyone here does whatever would be helpful, despite what it says on their name tag.”
No rigid roles. No ego. No “that’s not my job.” Magic! And yes, it showed in the guest experience and 5-star reviews.
4. Great Teams Give Everyone a Chance to Lead
While dune-driving at Sandwich Harbour, we watched a team of 4×4 drivers rotate leadership deliberately. Our driver, Simao, explained: “We give everyone a chance to lead. We support whoever needs to practice a new part of the route. And we keep a strong driver at the back in case someone gets into trouble.”
This is followership at its best:
Supporting the leader
Anticipating needs
Stepping in when required
Stepping back when appropriate
Lifting others up
It echoed everything we’d seen with the elephants, the zebras, and the lodge staff.
What This All Adds Up To Is…
Leadership is not hierarchy. It’s a role we all take on, and it should move.
Followership is just as important (if not more!). It’s about choice, support, challenge, and partnership.
People flourish when treated as individuals, not job titles.
None of this is new in nature. It’s timeless. But in organizations, it’s rare and special when enacted well.
If we want higher-performing teams and more humanity in our workplaces, we need to stop treating leadership as a personality cult, the purview of a “Great Man”, or a permanent identity.
Leadership and followership are interdependent roles in a shared system. You can’t have one without the other. They are equally important. Fluid. Contextual.
And every one of us is unique and special in that system.