Why Your Workplace is a Zoo
“If you’re ever at the zoo in Sydney, go to the chimpanzee compound and you’ll think ‘Goddam this looks like my office.’” -Robert Greene
As a military veteran, I’m aware that hierarchy exists everywhere. I saw it in the way I walked, talked, and dressed every day for six years. And it doesn’t stop at the gate of the military base. I live near a Catholic church, there’s a hierarchy among the clergy. I also live near a coffee shop, there’s a hierarchy among the baristas. Even the tech startup down the street has a hierarchy, although they try to hide it behind a “flat” company structure.
I don’t blame people for being reluctant to admit that they are part of a social structure. It’s taboo. But like many taboos, it’s also very attractive. Check out a YouTube video of Jordan Peterson talking about hierarchy and you’ll see hundreds of vicious comments. You’ll also see that it’s been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
Peterson’s example of the lobster hierarchy is apt, but I’m more interested in chimpanzees for a few reasons. First, Robert Greene described chimp hierarchy to me in a video interview. Robert literally wrote the book on human nature, The Laws of Human Nature, and he’s quick to point out that we can learn about ourselves from observing chimp hierarchy. And it could be my own conformity, but I value Robert’s expertise. Second, I’ve observed chimps up close at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. Jane Goodall has worked with this zoo to make the chimpanzee compound a realistic environment for normal animal behavior, even violence. When I saw these chimps in their element, it was mesmerizing. Third, the behavior that I saw during my time in the military was a perfect example of the patterns seen in chimpanzees.
The patterns in military hierarchy are easy to spot, because we have an omnipresent rank structure. When the alpha chimp struts around the Taronga Zoo, the inferiors follow behind him by nature. In the Navy, following was required. When walking around, the highest ranking individual would walk at the front of the group. If another group passed you, their highest ranking individual would size up your leader and determine whether to salute first or wait to be saluted. For example, a group of junior officers passes another group, led by a senior officer. The group of junior officers will salute the second group, because the second group’s alpha is higher ranking. Think of these group interactions as all parties, “assuming the rank,” of their respective alpha. If the alpha were at the back of the group, these quick assessments would not be possible and it would be difficult to know when to initiate a salute.
Influence of military alphas can be scaled to the masses. If an auditorium of 1,000 sailors are seated and the senior officer stands up, the entire room will be commanded to stand up too. I’m not sure how far an alpha chimp can scale his influence. My guess is that there is a break point around Dunbar’s Number, a group of 150.
Outside of the military, you will see more subtle alpha influence. The inferiors will still walk behind the alpha, but not in the firm order of a military group. For example, see a group of medical students trailing a physician around a hospital. Even at the “flat” tech startup, inferiors will imitate the alpha. This may be unconscious, but the compulsion is real. It’s part of what makes leading by example so powerful.
In more fluid social structures, like the tech startup, the combination of position in the hierarchy and action can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. The new guy has transitioned from another department, he already knows the boss, he’s been with the company for 5 years and carries himself with great confidence. Others will assume that he deserves a high place in the hierarchy and he will quickly rise to that spot. It can work in reverse too. The new guy is hesitant and nervous. He defers to those beneath him in the hierarchy and becomes more nervous. The result is a vicious cycle. He falls to the bottom of the ranks.
If you’re not a military officer, politician, or priest, never assume you can fake your way to a higher place in the group. This will raise suspicion, it’s near impossible to fake the confidence of an alpha, because it is in your biochemistry. Instead, earn your way up and be aware of others who are trying to influence you through the appearance of rank.