The Cleaver Community Blog
Thoughts that make better people, better leaders, and a better world

Think Like a Mushroom
Looking to boost your team's performance and foster powerful collaboration? This blog post dives deep into unexpected wisdom from nature: the hidden world of fungi and their incredible networks. Far beyond just mushrooms, we explore the mycelium – a vast, adaptive network that underpins forest ecosystems, much like informal connections drive effective teaming in business.
Discover how to change your perspective on organizational structures, moving beyond rigid charts to embrace the "game within the game" of business. Learn from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and trees, where each leverages its unique strengths for mutual benefit. This "value creation niche" concept isn't just about improving collective outcomes; it's about individual fulfillment and the magic of a self-organizing super-organism.
Finally, understand how you can personally cultivate a network effect within your organization. Just as the "wood-wide web" facilitates communication and resource sharing among trees, you can become an indispensable partner by consistently providing mutual value and enriching collaborations. Unlock the secrets of nature's networkers to build a more resilient, adaptive, and high-performing team. This insightful article offers actionable lessons for modern business leaders seeking to revolutionize their approach to teamwork and organizational development.

Our Evolving Social Software
In the world of organizational leadership and coaching, there’s a handful of topics for which it feels difficult to say something new or interesting. Subjects like ‘Leadership’, ‘Communication’ and anything related to ‘Teams’ feels pretty picked over.
This is why we’ve been noticing a rising interest, not around managing teams, but rather around the skill of teaming. By this, we mean the skills and habits needed by individuals to work effectively with other teammates. This especially includes informal and unconventional teaming relationships.
We think this is a combination of two factors. First, the ways we’re working with our formal teams are changing due to remote work, flatter org charts, and workforce dynamics. Second, we are increasingly being asked to work in ad hoc, informal and unconventional team scenarios.