Many of you would know from one of my earlier posts How Is Your Leadership Kung Fu? outside of my professional career and since my early teens I’ve been involved in the world of martial arts. In particular, Chinese martial arts that are often referred to in the western world as Kung Fu. A number of Kung Fu styles seek to imitate the movements and spirit of five particular animals: the dragon, tiger, crane, leopard and snake. Observing their nature lies at the very heart of the discipline – you invoke the tiger when you need a quick resolution, but if a more evasive approach is needed, then the crane would be able to block and counter-attack at the right time.

Much as a Kung Fu practitioner should be adaptable and choose the right approach at any given moment, so should a leader seek to vary their approach. As a passionate martial artist, I would like to explore the characteristics of each of these five animals and explore the commonalities between Kung Fu and leadership styles.

Dragon. The dragon is a mythical animal associated with courage and energy, with a flowing spirit not dissimilar to its fiery breath. The Dragon style utilises the waist, the bigger muscle in the human body. For example, when striking with the fist, the move originates in the waist, flows through your body and is delivered with a graceful power.

Dragon leaders could be seen as mesmeric influencers, their experience flowing through their every thought and action to achieve their goals. They have an inner drive that gives energy to all around them.

Tiger. The tiger does not need to defend, it is the ultimate predator. It leaps into the fray, seeking the swiftest possible resolution of the conflict. There is no strategic planning – simply direct and destructive power. The tiger aims for the throat with fists and feet, a simplistic target, to the exclusion of anything else, never blocking, but swatting away attacks with its arms and legs. Tiger leaders go in for the kill as soon as they sense weakness. They don’t care what people think of them, and they don’t care about collateral damage. They see the target and nothing else matters.

Crane. With its spindly body and slight frame, the crane is a master of evasion and balance. Its style is perfectly suited to counter-attacking – sidestepping any attack, cloaking itself in its wings to hide the direction of the attack, and then counter-attacking unexpectedly, from any angle except the front. It deflects and redirects blows at lightning speed, jabbing, hooking and poking at vital areas. It seeks to frustrate an opponent, letting them defeat themselves. The crane leader is a slippery type who is difficult to tie down, and always comes up with solutions from the most unexpected of places.

Leopard. Unlike the tiger, the leopard does not rely on brute force, rather counting on its speed and outsmarting its opponent. Leopards hit hard a couple of times, aiming to cause the maximum damage and then retreat to observe the results. They too do not believe in defence, rather seeking to bewilder their opponent and catch them unawares.

Leopard leaders are probably the most dangerous. They lurk in the shadows until the last moment, and before you know it, they have got what they wanted and are gone again.

Snake. Snakes accumulate energy (chi) and then practice highly accurate and lightening fast attacks. Precision, timing and targeting must all be spot on. There may be swaying movements intended as distractions, executed as a feint, but mostly snakes are direct and deadly. Just as a snake’s venom is what kills, in Kung Fu, it is the accumulated “chi” that will win the day.

The snake leader plots their course of action and weighs every option before striking at exactly the right place in exactly the right way. Time spent in preparation is directly proportionate to the effectiveness of the attacks.

So now reflect on your own leadership style and that of your managers and colleagues alike, what animal traits do you see?