Savanna
The eight archetypes
Each archetype is a composite portrait built from validated trait dimensions. The label is a framing device - the patterns underneath are what's substantive.
Lion
The Decisive Leader
Confident, assertive, and outcome-driven. Lions take ownership, set the pace and protect the pride.
Thrives leading initiatives with clear scope and authority. Prefers fast loops, direct feedback, and visible ownership of outcomes.
Elephant
The Wise Steward
Patient, methodical, and deeply loyal. Elephants remember context, weigh consequences and protect institutional knowledge.
Best in roles that reward depth, continuity and stewardship - architecture, ops leadership, principal IC, programme management.
Cheetah
The Sprinter
Fast, focused in bursts, energised by novelty. Cheetahs cover ground others cannot - on their terms.
Greenfield work, prototypes, incident response, launches. Less suited to steady-state operations.
Giraffe
The Long-View Observer
Calm, perceptive, and quietly precise. Giraffes see further than the herd and speak only when it matters.
Research, design, analysis, principal IC tracks. Needs quiet blocks and asynchronous communication.
Hyena
The Adaptive Operator
Social, opportunistic, and resourceful. Hyenas read the room, work the network and make do with what is in front of them.
Sales, partnerships, BD, founding teams, community. Anything requiring negotiation and improvisation.
Meerkat
The Vigilant Connector
Alert, social, and community-first. Meerkats keep watch, raise alarms early and hold the group together.
EM, PM, customer success, ops, support leadership. Anywhere people-systems and process-systems meet.
Rhino
The Resolute Finisher
Determined, grounded, hard to move. Rhinos pick a direction and arrive - through the obstacle, not around it.
Deep IC, infra, reliability, hard-systems engineering, anything requiring sustained grind.
Eagle
The Strategic Visionary
High-altitude, pattern-driven, future-focused. Eagles see the shape of the landscape and pick the line others cannot.
Strategy, founding, principal architect, research leadership. Gives the most leverage when paired with strong executors.