Working With a Lemur
Apply the Lemur's profile to real interactions.
Lemurs are often the most energetic people on a team. They're the ones who fill the awkward silence and replace it with engagement. Similar to Lions, they have a bias for action in every situation, with a focus on influence and engagement with people, over outcomes.
They're also the ones most likely to overpromise — not because they want to fail, but because they are comfortable taking risks. They have confidence in their passion, creativity and perseverance to get it all done.
What a Lemur actually needs from you
- Engage them in the vision first. Before a Lemur can fully engage in coaching, feedback, or direction, they need to know what the opportunity at hand is. Lemurs perform not just for the win, but for the thrill of the adventure with others.
- Connect work to people and impact. "This needs to be done by Friday" lands differently than "This is what makes us a superstar for the customer." Lemurs are motivated by their ability to influence and engage others.
- Make space for them to say no. Because Lemurs struggle to disappoint, they often overcommit. As a Zookeeper, explicitly say that it's okay to push back. A helpful reminder such as "What on your plate would this replace?" helps create awareness of capacity limitations a Lemur often underestimates.
- Be generous with praise. Lemurs thrive on genuine recognition. "Thank you for handling that" doesn't do much. "The way you held the room when things got tense in that client session — that took real skill" lands at a completely different level.
Where Lemurs create friction without realizing it
The most common Lemur friction pattern is overextension. A Lemur may enthusiastically overcommit even when the unrealistic stretch and risk seem obvious to others. They can smooth over a conflict with humor or distraction, just to keep the vibe positive. None of it looks problematic until the deadline is missed or the unresolved tension surfaces sideways.
What to watch for in a coaching conversation
A Lemur under stress presents as scattered or overextended. When they give a long, energetic answer about how busy they are, that's often a covering response. What's usually underneath is something relational that hasn't been named.
Practice this in Game 3.