Leadership Lessons from Bees
A couple of weeks ago, while walking the dog with my 11-year-old son, he said, “Dad, you should make a video on leadership lessons from bees.”
I’ve been making YouTube videos on leadership for the past two months. My goal has been to bring some of the leadership lessons we cover in the classroom to a wider audience. My son has been watching me throughout the whole process — sourcing ideas, shooting, editing, and publishing the videos. So it made sense that he started thinking about my videos and coming up with ideas of his own.
Curious, I asked him, “Why bees?” He thought for a second and said, “Because although they only live a few weeks, they have a really sophisticated leadership system.”
That comment stuck with me. How could bees, with such short lives, have anything to teach us about leadership? So, I started digging into it and came across a fascinating book called The Wisdom of Bees by Michael O’Malley.
O’Malley, a beekeeper, noticed that bees do more than just make honey.
They create a highly efficient and productive organization — much like a successful business. Based on this premise, he identified twenty-five lessons from bees about leadership, efficiency, and growth.
There are three lessons from bees that I feel are particularly useful for leaders: delegating, keeping communication short and simple, and planning for the future. Let’s look at them in detail.
Delegating
Bees don’t rely on just one leader to do everything. The queen bee delegates. The worker bees make decisions on their own based on what’s happening around them. Bees don’t micromanage.
Delegating is an important lesson for any leader. It’s about trusting and empowering the team. People feel respected and valued. Delegating has a strong impact on the morale of the team.
As leaders, we should give our teams the freedom to make decisions. When we delegate and trust the team, like bees do, they grow more confident, and the overall efficiency of the team and the organization improves.
Keeping It Short and Simple
Bees communicate efficiently. When one finds a source of nectar, it performs a simple dance to show the others where to go. The dance, often called the tail-wagging dance, is very specific. No long explanations — just the necessary information.
As leaders, we have to avoid overloading our teams with too much information. Whether in meetings or emails, we should strive to keep it short and simple. Not only is it easier for people to digest the information, but it’s also less overwhelming. By keeping communication short and to the point, your team will understand what’s needed, make quicker decisions, and stay focused.
Planning for the Future
Bees are smart planners; they are strategic. When they find a good nectar source, they don’t send everyone at once. They gather what’s needed but leave enough for the future.
In business, it’s easy to get excited about short-term success while forgetting about long-term sustainability. This is particularly true in Western cultures, which tend to be very short-term oriented.
If we balance today’s gains with tomorrow’s needs, we’ll protect our future growth and avoid burning out our teams. Saving for the future ensures our organization’s sustainability.
Bees may be small, but their wisdom is huge. By learning from them, we can become better leaders. So, next time you see a bee buzzing by, remember: there’s a lot they can teach you about leadership.
Next time you find yourself micromanaging your team, think of the bees and delegate. Trust your team and let them thrive.
Next time you’re about to send a long, convoluted email, think of the bees. Keep it short and simple to help your team stay focused and efficient.
And next time you’re too focused on short-term wins, think of the bees’ long-term planning. Let bees be the guiding light of our future growth.
Here’s a video version of this article, posted on my YouTube channel.
