Think Like a Mushroom
Teaming 2 of 5 - Lessons from Nature’s Networkers
Last week, we explored the evolution of teaming from ancient tribes to modern networks. This week, we're diving into an unexpected source of wisdom: the hidden world of fungi.
You might be thinking, "Mushrooms? What could they possibly teach us about business?" Well, it turns out these remarkable organisms offer some fascinating insights into how effective networks truly operate.
(Technically, a mushroom is just the visible fruit of an underground fungus ‘tree’. That tree/network part is referred to as mycelium, but it’s not as funny to say ‘Think like Mycelium’, so ‘Mushroom’ it is)
Change Your Perspective: The Mushroom and the Tree
One of the challenges we encounter with less experienced professionals is their inability to see the ‘game within the game’ of business. They think that the game is about achieving tangible objectives in defined roles, following clear processes. If they could just have a chat with the mushrooms, they’d find out they are about half right.
When we look at a forest, our eyes are naturally drawn to the towering trees – the visible, structured elements. In business, we often do the same, focusing on organizational charts, processes, and formal teams. But just as trees depend on the vast, often unseen network of mycelium beneath the soil – a network that can, in some cases, span miles and be the largest living organism on Earth – effective teaming relies on a dynamic interplay between visible structures and informal, often hidden, cooperation.
The mycelial network is chaotic, adaptive, and essential. It's where the real magic happens in the forest, connecting everything.
In the same way, true teaming success isn't just about what's on paper; it’s about fostering those less visible, agile connections and problem-solving efforts that happen outside the formal lines.
Leverage Each Other's Niche’
In Dan Cables book ‘Alive at Work’ he discusses a surprising insight about team cooperation: When the team learns what each other enjoys and are good at, they will spontaneously shift their work sharing strategies to leverage it. This will come as no surprise to the mushrooms.
The incredible power of the fungi-tree relationship lies in a deep, symbiotic partnership. Trees provide essential carbohydrates (sugars) produced through photosynthesis, while the fungi are remarkably efficient at extracting vital water and scarce nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen from the soil, funneling them directly to the tree. Some fungi even offer protection against pathogens. It's a perfect example of a precise, mutually beneficial exchange.
Effective teaming works much the same way. It's about each individual leveraging their unique strengths and capacities to provide value to their teammates. When everyone understands their "value creation niche" and actively contributes to it, the collective outcome is far greater than the sum of its parts. But, it’s not only about improving the collective outcome. When individuals do what they enjoy, what they are good at, then it improves individual outcomes as well. This is the true power of a self organizing super-organism. The magic of harnessing mutual attraction and mutual reward.
Become the Network Effect
In the world of business, achieving a ‘network effect’ is the ‘holy grail’ of competitive moats. This is where the value of a product or service increases the more people use it. When it comes to teaming, you can become a personal "network effect" by building a reputation as someone valuable to work with, a lesson that mushrooms learned about 3 billion years before Silicon Valley.
In fact, scientists have discovered that these mycelial networks act as a 'wood-wide web,' allowing not just fungi and trees to interact, but even different trees to communicate and share vital resources. For example, mature 'mother trees' can use these underground fungal pathways to transfer nutrients and water to struggling seedlings, essentially nurturing the next generation of the forest. Fungi aren’t just the network of the trees; they are their indispensable partners.
For us, this represents the need to go beyond transactional teaming strategies and Instead focus on "partnering" - consistently providing mutual value and demonstrating your abilities in ways that others perceive and leverage. The more you genuinely contribute to the collective, the more your value within the system rises, both internally and externally. It’s about being the person others seek out because you consistently enrich the collaboration. Alright, that’s it for this week.
See you next week,
The Cleaver Team
