Leaders are made or born? Learn from Woodpecker Finch

The woodpecker finch conveys an extraordinary leadership message for the corporate leaders to follow. The science of their learning is amazing and indeed very insightful.

The woodpecker finch, unlike other species of nut eating finch, doesn’t eat nuts as their main food. Instead, they bore the wood bark and catch the grubs that reside inside, exactly like woodpecker. That is how it has earned the name ‘woodpecker finch’.

The interesting aspect is that its bill/beak is too small like other finch species. How the bird with such small bill manages to catch worms from deep inside wood bark? The smart finch has learned to use sticks or other tools to grab the grubs that hide inside the wood. They first bore the wood and then use sticks to scrape out the worms.

The woodpecker finch would have learned and perfected the above trait only through series of trial and error. Further compelling food needs in the isolated island where it lives also would have made the bird to develop such traits.

The most striking point is that even the just hatched out baby finch also exhibit the instinct of using tools to catch grubs. How a ‘skill’ the bird has acquired through own experience has transmitting to the next generation? In other word, how an acquired learning has becomes an instinct behaviour in baby woodpecker finch?

The woodpecker fish is different and unique from other species of finches because it lives in an isolated island – Galapagos. The isolation has made the bird to evolve differently may be due the compelling survival reasons because they exist in an isolated island with plenty of limitations. When the bird has to continue to live in the same ecosystem, definitely some of the acquired (learning) behaviour has to pass on to next generation only then they can use such success traits right from birth.

Imagine, if each bird when they hatch out has to observe other birds how they select the dead portion of the wood, how they bore and how they use sticks to grab the worms etc., it would be impossible for the baby birds to achieve success.

Most of the corporate leaders wonder why only certain people exhibit extraordinary leadership qualities and not others who are also working in the same organization for years.

The question to be understood is that leadership instinct would come only to those who had the necessity to have the instinct. First identify people with such instinct and develop them. Never ask why others do not have such instinct or how to develop such qualities in others.

The larger message is that, the corporate has to provide right ecosystem for people to have leadership instinct and inclination. We cannot expect the finch in our hometown to behave like woodpecker finch in Galapagos Island. Both birds may belong to same species but the ecosystem where they live differ greatly.

Just by helping people to develop certain leadership qualities is not enough, but provide right environment to sustain it and flower it. If someone is working with the same environment for more years may not display any unusual leadership quality because the need for such quality is not required for them. On the other hand, the newly joined employee may show some new leadership traits. Understand first whether you require such leaders and if so, develop them. Do not ask why your existing employees do not possess such traits.

Make required changes in the culture of your organization to develop leaders what you require.

By Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai