Team Survival (Part 2): Herd Movement & Momentum

Herd in motion

In the world of horses, self-organizing movement is a matter of survival. If a feral herd of horses loses its ability to move together quickly, they become vulnerable — easy targets for predators. The three rules of cohesion, synchronization, and respecting space (explained in Part 1) are not just for the sake of order, they're crucial to keep the herd moving in an organized way when it really counts. Horses know that getting stuck, colliding, or falling apart can be fatal.

For businesses and organizations, the stakes might not be life and death, but losing momentum can lead to stagnation, missed opportunities, and even financial demise.

Momentum is everything, and just as in nature, the ability to keep moving in unison is essential for navigating challenges and achieving long-term success as a team. We can try to survive on our own, but success through self-sufficiency is also a myth.

The Dangers of Losing Cohesion

When a herd loses cohesion, members scatter, and their collective strength is lost. The herd’s unity and shared direction are what provide its greatest defense — not just from predators, but in the face of any external or environmental threat. Just like in our organizations, when cohesion is lost, teams will fragment, and the energy that once propelled them forward will fade away.

When people don't come together as a team, it shows up as a lack of direction and purpose. In businesses, this happens when departments or individuals stick to their own thing and miss the bigger picture. This kind of split leads to office politics, unnecessary competition, and mixed priorities. When communication breaks down, everyone gets out of sync and trust starts to crumble. Employees might start looking out for themselves instead of the team, and this lack of trust can make the workplace pretty toxic.

The result is predictable — decreased morale, poor productivity, and vulnerability to external pressures. Just as a lone horse separated from the herd is vulnerable to predators, a disconnected team is easy prey for competition, market shifts, or organizational disruptions.

The importance of team cohesion cannot be overstated. It requires consistent effort, communication, and above all, trust. When leaders and team members come together to build a sense of unity, they create a vibe where everyone puts the group's well-being above their own wants. To make this happen, you need clear communication, shared values, and a culture where people feel linked to the organization’s mission and to each other.

Disrupted Synchronization: When Movement Stalls

Synchronization is what allows a herd to move rapidly as one in critical moments. Without it, chaos reigns. Imagine the scene in a wild environment: the herd is racing away from a predator, and every member’s movements are in harmony. The entire group moves together, avoiding obstacles and adapting in real-time. This kind of precise coordination is essential to surviving and thriving in the wild.

In a business context, however, when synchronization is disrupted, it shows up as miscommunication, conflicting priorities, and a lack of coordination.

When things aren't in sync, it can really mess things up when it matters most. Picture a project where no one knows how to communicate or what to expect — deadlines get missed, people end up duplicating efforts, and everyone gets frustrated. If everyone on the team is doing their own thing without knowing the group's overall goal, productivity tanks, and the vibe gets pretty low. Without being on the same page, all the effort that could have gone towards achieving shared goals just scatters, like trying to move forward while everyone's pulling in different directions.

In human herds, synchronization is about creating shared rhythms. These rhythms come from routines, processes, and most importantly, effective communication channels.

Successful organizations know how to build synchronization by setting up clear processes, having transparent communication, and fostering an environment where feedback is welcomed and valued. This allows team members to adjust to one another’s needs and to work together seamlessly, even when under pressure.

Like a horse herd, businesses can only maintain momentum if their members move together in sync — adjusting to challenges as a collective rather than as isolated individuals.

Respecting Space to Maintain Momentum

Horses that ignore personal space risk injury and disorder, threatening the entire herd. In a tightly-knit group, each member must respect the boundaries of others in order to keep the herd in motion. When one horse invades another’s space, they cause disruption and collision, leading to disorder and potential harm. Similarly, in human organizations, the failure to respect personal space or boundaries can be just as damaging.

For instance, micromanagement is a common pitfall in many businesses. Leaders who overstep boundaries, trying to control every aspect of a project or task, often do so out of a desire for control, or out of fear of mistakes. Ironically, this behavior often leads to stagnation and a lack of progress. When team members feel that their autonomy is being threatened, they become disengaged, and their motivation flatlines. Over time, this leads to burnout and a decrease in productivity.

Respecting space means giving team members the freedom to manage their own work while still ensuring they’re aligned with the larger goals of the team or organization. It’s about striking a balance between collaboration and independence — knowing when to step back and let people do their jobs without overbearing oversight. Leaders who learn to respect the space of their team members create an environment where trust can flourish.

When team members feel that they have the ability to contribute their own ideas and manage their responsibilities without constant interference, their sense of ownership and engagement increases. And just as importantly, they can focus on the task at hand without distraction.

In a well-functioning human herd, leaders and members alike are careful to respect boundaries while still maintaining strong connections with each other. In turn, this allows the group to remain resilient, flexible, and, most crucially, in motion.

Adopting the Laws of Herd Movement

Rather than pulling things to a halt for the illusion of control, what if we embraced these three skills — cohesion, synchronization, and respecting space — to maintain momentum? What if, like horses, we practiced these skills daily so that in times of crisis, we could trust each other to move as one?

This isn’t about imposing rigid systems or rules, but about creating a culture that values collaboration and adaptability. It’s about recognizing that every individual within an organization has unique strengths, and those strengths can be leveraged more effectively when everyone is moving together. When a team is cohesive, synchronized, and respectful of each other’s space, they create a powerful momentum that can carry them through any challenge.

By embracing these laws of nature, we can keep our human herds in motion, navigating challenges with strength and resilience. Just as a herd of feral horses can navigate treacherous terrain with precision and purpose, organizations can move through periods of uncertainty and change with clarity, purpose, and confidence. This requires a commitment to the principles of trust, communication, and respect — but when applied correctly, it ensures that the human herd will remain strong, focused, and capable of achieving extraordinary things.

By adopting these principles, leaders can create environments where momentum doesn’t just happen by accident, but is cultivated intentionally — where every member of the team understands their role and moves in harmony with the rest of the group. This will ensure that when the inevitable challenges arise, the herd will be ready, unified, and prepared to keep moving forward.