Power is central to the functioning of human groups. Human groups function because of hierarchy. The same is true of chimpanzees. Chimps are hierarchical animals, meaning that within their community there is a pecking order. In chimp society the top of the hierarchy is occupied by a male, the so-called alpha male.
Lubutu, the current alpha male of the chimps at Taronga Zoo, became the alpha at the young age of eight years. He was the oldest male at the time when Gombe, the then alpha, died. Lubutu’s acclimatisation to power gives first time leaders some valuable lessons. When Lubutu became the alpha he appeared to lack confidence. His leadership style was best described as passive. He did not exert the appropriate power of his position and he refused to intervene in squabbles amongst members of his community; he would literally look the other way! Like the experience of many a first-time leader, some of the members of his community supported his ‘appointment’ and some didn’t. One of the females, Shiba, for instance refused to accept him as alpha, indicated by her refusal to submit to him—she refused to be dominated by him. He was still just a boy, so he didn’t have the physical strength to back himself and exert his position. But as he physically matured he grew into his role and appeared more comfortable in using the power of his position. Now almost ten years in the role, he has grown into a very constructive leader who uses power appropriately to the apparent benefit of his community—the Taronga group is a productively reproducing, reasonably harmonious group that replicates behaviours typical of wild chimps.
Lubutu’s key leadership strategy is to be friendly to the females and their offspring. He invests time in grooming sessions with the females. He lets the infants play with him and spends time with the teenagers. Consequently, the females (the majority of his community) appear to like Lubutu. Certainly they get to show their preference for him over the rival males.
One day in August 2009 Lubutu was temporarily absent from his ‘organisation’. Lubutu’s absence reminded me of a conversation with a HR director when she told me what happens when her CEO is away from the office on business trips: ‘When our CEO is away the executives go feral!’
Lubutu had gone to the vet for a vasectomy. He was out of the community for a mere half day. But that’s long enough for aspirational males to take advantage. Beta male, Shabani, seemed to rejoice in his good fortune to have Lubutu out of the way. When Lubutu did return to the exhibit he was no doubt uncomfortable from the operation. Shabani, presumably sensing his discomfort, displayed aggressively over Lubutu who had a reduced capacity to fight back. With hair hackled in a fierce display, Shabani screamed at Lubutu then chased the weakened alpha and, when he caught him, bashed him.
Lubutu may have thought his days as alpha were over as he hung on by a thread late into the afternoon. With night approaching, the 19 chimps filed into their night den. What happened next is fascinating and reveals the benefits of Lubutu’s friendly leadership style. Shabani is habitually and unpredictably aggressive, often attacking the females and infants to force his will. In the night den the female chimps expressed their preference for their leader by gathering around Lubutu and groomed him reassuringly. They turned their backs to Shabani who was ostracised like an unwelcome stranger. By the next day Lubutu had regained his strength, was still the alpha and continued the unending task of holding the top job.
This demonstration of support by the chimp community might explain Dr Goodall’s observation that constructive alphas usually endure as leaders for around ten years, but bullying and intimidating alpha males tend to last for only about two years.
One of the most constructive leaders of the Gombe chimps was Figan, and the one who appeals to me as the standout leader over these 50 years of Gombe research. When Dr Goodall and I met in late 2008 I was keen to hear more about Figan and she added to what I already knew from her books. Figan was alpha in the late 1970s and early 80s and one of the most powerful males Dr Goodall has observed (he also had the support of his brother, Faben, so anyone who challenged Figan had to be prepared to take on both brothers in coalition). Figan’s outstanding attribute was that he used his power constructively and did not bully or intimidate his community (at least relatively speaking for an alpha chimp). But he did use his power to insist on appropriate behaviour. As Dr Goodall wrote, ‘I suspect that many would-be aggressors, anticipating the displeasure of their boss, exercised more self-restraint when he was around.’
The observed outcome of Figan’s leadership style is persuasive. Dr Goodall writes that his style ‘helped to promote and maintain an atmosphere of social harmony among the members of his group’. During Figan’s reign most of his interactions with members of his community were relaxed and friendly. ‘He was so clearly dominant over them that, except when there were moments of tension such as during a reunion, he had no need for violent demonstrations of strength and mastery.’
Not all alpha male chimps are as constructive as Figan in the way they exercise power. Figan’s nephew, Frodo, became alpha male some years later. Frodo was one aggressive alpha, leading through bullying and intimidation.
When I asked Dr Goodall about Frodo, she replied that he always showed the personality of a bully. Even as a youngster, when the other young chimps his age were playing and saw Frodo approach, they would suspend their game because they knew the tyrant was about to destroy their fun. The bully of a kid grew up to be a bully of a leader.
Power is a natural dimension to life for hierarchical social animals. It comes with the domain. The challenge for leaders is to use power effectively. This means using just the right amount of power that is appropriate for your position. We will come back to this and other implications for leaders later. First, we need to discuss the importance of social standing for humans—our standing in the pecking order.
Social standing
With so much riding on our position in the hierarchy, it is little wonder that we place such an emphasis on signs of our social standing and so much energy on progressing in our social group. Social standing, or status in the hierarchy, explains a number of curious behaviours in organisations.
Hierarchy and status explains who keeps who waiting. The team leader might keep a staff member or external supplier waiting yet would not keep their CEO waiting for a second. The CEO might keep a lower level manager waiting, yet this same executive would not dream of doing the same to a Board member. That’s life for social primates. We can of course choose to treat people equally and not keep lower ranking people waiting! They’ll appreciate it.
Hierarchy and status explains why people who have their own office often fight and scream against any move into open-plan design. And it’s why, when forced into an open-plan configuration, some might collect bigger and better pot plants than their neighbours … or they gain the preferred position by the window … or mysteriously procure a leather chair … or sit closer to the Director (who retained their office).
Hierarchy and status explains why in organisational life we naturally tend to have grades and job titles, and along with the instinct of contest and display, it’s why people can be touchy about job titles—especially how their title compares with their peers.
Early in my career I worked as a human resources officer in a manufacturing firm. At the factory there were two car parking areas—one for managers and one for the workers. The managers’ car park was located, not surprisingly, in the privileged position alongside the office block. The employees’ car park was at the edge of the site. Being an eager young HR professional, I had in mind that it would be a grand sign of equality if we removed the managers’ car park.
When one particular young and extremely capable engineering manager heard about my proposal he quickly sought me out. He’d only just gained access to the managers’ car park through a recent promotion and passionately argued to retain it. He enthusiastically made his point: ‘When I first joined this firm as an apprentice I had aspirations
