Hedgehogs face a dilemma in winter – they have the need to get closer to each other to stay warm, but when they do, they feel the prick of each other’s quills. So, they move away from each other to find comfort. Then, the cold brings them close again. Hedgehogs have the experience of constantly seeking the optimal distance.

Similarly, organizations go through a similar process. Each organization at a given moment seeks its balance. Accepting a certain level of closeness is essential for functioning, but the question is, what level of closeness is sufficient for optimal functioning? Under the pressures of business, they sometimes go to extremes. Employees are either in fear of icy isolation or afraid of being swallowed up by an environment with no diversity.

If a strong leader leads the company, whom everyone blindly follows, people will obey without question, and the organization will be dominated by the deputy “we,” while employees adapt excessively, not consciously feeling the quills that hedgehogs feel. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the feeling of loneliness and the fear of it. An example is sometimes employees who work in a virtual world without real contact with the team.

On the other hand, the business environment changes rapidly – today it’s raining, tomorrow it’s sunny, and the day after tomorrow, it’s foggy. Despite all these changes, the organization remains fixed in its learned pattern. That’s why it’s good to experiment with small changes and learn from experience, with the aim of increasing flexibility. If everyone sits in the same places at a meeting, they can try changing their seating and see what happens. Or if sales reviews exclusively focus on numbers, they can show interest in how employees feel when they do or don’t meet their targets. Small experiments help the organization get to know itself better, accept constructive anger and disagreement, and on the other hand, realize that closeness isn’t dangerous.

By moving flexibly and experimenting with small changes, the organization experientially learns what it needs at any given moment – just like hedgehogs in winter.