Terrific Thursday Tails: Naked Mole Rat

In our Terrific Thursday Tails series, we’ll be exploring various animals and discovering the leadership lessons they bring us. This week lesson is from something that may be familiar to those who were kids in the 00’s. Anyone who has ever watched Disney Channel’s Kim Possible would be aware of Rufus, the Naked Mole Rat.

Unfortunately, the actual Naked Mole Rat is not as adorable (or musically inclined). Instead, the naked mole rat (also known as a sand puppy) sort of looks… like this. (pic below)

(Photo credit (above): Jedimentat44 | Flickr)

As a desert burrowing rodent, it’s uniquely able to conform its body temperature to that of the temperature of the environment. It also holds the record for being the longest living rodent. It has unique physical traits such as few pain receptors and blood with a strong affinity to oxygen, to survive in the harsh environment it lives in.

The leadership lesson:

Don’t let someone’s looks fool you. Even if someone appears unassuming and plain, they may have unique traits and abilities that allows them to succeed in life. I learnt this lesson at Leaderonomics, in my first role. Even the CEO, Roshan, seemed a very unassuming guy. You would never imagine him to being the CEO. Yet, beneath his simple dressing and lifestyle, is a inspiring person. Many others, including co-founder, Ang Hui Ming, may seem plain and simple, yet she has a deep reservoir of functional capabilty and design ability. So, never judge a book by its cover.

And remember, everyone can be a leader!