Dolphins, tigers and leadership

Today we will take our leadership lessons from dolphins and tigers.

- FRANCIS J. KONG

An article on LiveScience featured Delle, a solitary bottlenose dolphin residing in Denmark's Svendborgsund channel. Typically highly social, Delle was separated from his pod and began exhibiting unusual behavior. Over two months in 2023, researchers recorded him producing 10,833 vocalizations—whistles, burst pulses and percussions.

Cetacean biologist Olga Filatova explained, "These sounds are traditionally considered communicative, meaning there should be at least two dolphins 'talking'. But Delle was completely alone." One hypothesis suggests Delle's vocalizations reflect loneliness, possibly an attempt to self-soothe or find a connection.

Now, let us turn to another article featured in the e-newsletter Morning Brew.

It talks about the story of two rescued Siberian tigers named Boris and Svetlaya. They were released in the Russian wilderness over 100 miles apart as part of a rehabilitation and conservation effort.

"However, you can't stop true love!" the article said.

Boris began seeking out his lost love. He traveled the entire distance, approximately the length of Taiwan, to reunite with Svetlaya, where she was located. Six months later, the couple has a litter of tiger cubs.

The stories of Delle the dolphin and Boris the tiger highlight leadership lessons about healthy relationships:

1. The value of connection