The Leader Is Not Always at the Front (1) — Lessons from the Endangered Lycaon pictus —

In 1972, I was involved in the production of a television documentary in Africa.
I had a small base in Nairobi, Kenya, and spent my days tracking animals across the savanna.

It was there that I encountered the Lycaon pictus (African Wild Dogs).

On the savanna, I had to let go of a certain 'assumption'.

A pack of about fifteen dogs ran in a straight line across the dry earth.
Naturally, I assumed that the individual at the front was leading the pack.

But I was wrong.

The center of decision-making was not at the front, but in the middle of the pack.

The moment that individual slightly changed course, even the dogs running in front corrected their trajectory without hesitation.
There were no voices, no signals. Through a 'mutual understanding' felt behind their backs, the entire pack moved as a single will.

It was not control.
It was 'alignment' born of trust.

Years later, I summarized this experience in an English essay for a university writing class.
In it, I wrote:

“ This was not control. It was alignment. ”

The society of the African wild dog is built not on dominance, but on cooperation.
Injured companions are not abandoned, and the young are protected as a priority.
Survival depends not on the strength of the individual, but on the strength of the relationships.

This structure poses a quiet question to modern organizations.

Do we still cling to the assumption that...
'A leader is someone who stands at the front'?

But the African wild dog is different.

The leader does not stand in front.
While placing themselves within the pack, they feel the flow of the whole and create the greatest change with the smallest movement.

The scene I witnessed in the Serengeti over fifty years ago was, at the time, nothing more than a surprise.
But looking back now, I believe it was a question.

——Are you standing at the front?
Or are you moving the whole?

Leadership is not a position; it is a relationship.

…..

Why is the pack of African wild dogs able to move like that?
The reason was not clear to me when I observed them back then.

However, now, I have finally arrived at a hypothesis.

Next time, I would like to delve into the core of that.

——Why can the pack follow a 'leader in an invisible position'?

※ This series will also be published in an English version (reconstructed).
If you would like to read it in English, please see the following.
→ Leadership Series (English Edition)