Biomimicry in Leadership: How Healthy Leaders Facilitate Healthy Organisational Ecosystems– Lessons from Keystone Species

This dissertation presents the first empirical study investigating whether patterns of behaviour in keystone species can inform a biomimetic approach to healthy leadership that supports resilience. Keystone species are nature's influencers. They contribute to ecosystem health through their disproportionate impact on their environments. Through an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, this study analysed 30 keystone species across nine behavioural categories, conducted semi-structured interviews with ten sustainability leaders, and carried out three expert case studies on biomimicry, homeostasis, and human wellbeing. Four promising connections were found between keystone mechanisms and sustainable leadership practices, which provide a starting point for a keystone-inspired framework: (1) relational infrastructure — leaders seek to build long-term, mutually reinforcing relationships that encourage trust-based resilience; (2) condition creation — leaders construct enabling contexts for systemic flourishing instead of controlling outcomes; (3) dynamic homeostasis — leaders reconcile their need for stability with their demands for change through micro-changes and ongoing recalibration for resilience and repair; and (4) cascade amplification — leaders recognise system interdependencies and design networks strategically that enhance the positive impacts in an organisational ecosystem. The study presents the beginnings of a keystone-inspired framework that reframes leadership from traditional models to system regulation that sustains health. As well as theoretical contributions to the literature in ecological and leadership scholarship, it offers practical recommendations for leadership development, human resource protocols, organisational architecture, and regenerative practices. It is subject to limitations related to purposive sampling and scope, yet it provides a compelling evidence-informed groundwork for the future development of a keystone approach to healthy, resilient leadership.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

mba

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Lorensson, Ruth

• HD28 Rheoli. Rheoli Diwydiannol

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:4042