When a Lioness Protects Her Kill: Leadership Boundaries That Define Success

Rose Odette
Sep 15
4 min read

In September 2025, a story out of Gujarat, India caught global headlines. Two young men entered the territory of a lioness who had just secured a kill near Jejad village in Savarkundla taluka. The lioness, defending her prize, attacked. Both men were mauled and required urgent medical care. (Source)

For the villagers, this was a terrifying reminder of the power and presence of Asiatic lions in and around Gir National Park. For leaders, it is a profound metaphor about boundaries, instincts, and the role of protection in sustainable success.

As I argue in my book Lead Like a Lioness (Amazon link), leadership lessons are everywhere in the natural world. Lionesses are not random attackers. They are strategic, protective, and deeply intentional. The Gujarat story is not just wildlife news — it is leadership in action.

The Power of Boundaries in Leadership - When a Lioness Protects Her Kill

Every leader has “kill sites” — the projects, clients, teams, and reputations that are the product of hard work and dedication. Just as a lioness defends her kill, leaders must defend what they have built.

Boundaries in leadership are not about aggression; they are about clarity. When others encroach — whether by overstepping responsibilities, undermining authority, or diluting focus — chaos follows. The Gujarat lioness teaches us that boundaries, when enforced, are a sign of strength, not weakness.

Five Leadership Lessons From the Lioness

1. Protect What You Build

The goat was the lioness’s survival. She was not willing to let others take it. In business, your “kill” is the result of your labor — your deals, your clients, your reputation. Protect it. Guard against scope creep, exploitative partnerships, or competitors encroaching on your value.

2. Courage Without Awareness Is Dangerous

The first youth entered unaware. The second rushed in to help. Both were injured. Leadership requires courage, but courage without awareness leads to disaster. Boldness must be paired with foresight and situational intelligence.

3. Visibility and Presence Prevent Chaos

The villagers’ demand for more patrols highlights the importance of visible authority. In organizations, teams thrive when leaders show up where risk exists. Presence in the “borderlands” — the weak points, the emerging markets, the fragile teams — signals commitment and deters disruption.

4. Rescue Plans Are Non-Negotiable

The youths needed transfer from a local hospital to a regional facility. In leadership, escalation plans are the difference between survival and collapse. Do you have systems in place for crisis management, resource redeployment, and reputational recovery?

5. Instinct Must Be Paired With Strategy

The lioness acted on instinct. Leaders must harness instinct but align it with strategy. Gut feelings matter, but without frameworks, planning, and execution, instinct alone will not scale. Strategy transforms instinct into results.

Action Items for Leaders

These lessons are not abstract — they are actionable. Here’s how to apply them immediately:

Define and enforce your boundaries. Document roles, responsibilities, and non-negotiables. Communicate them clearly to your team and stakeholders.
Audit your borderlands. Where are competitors circling? Where are systems weak? Step into those spaces before problems escalate. When a Lioness Protects Her Kill she does this.
Build a crisis escalation plan. Identify your rescue resources — mentors, advisors, capital reserves, communication channels. Make sure everyone knows the plan.
Train for bravery with awareness. Encourage bold decision-making, but teach your team to pause, assess, and act with context.
Balance instinct with repeatable frameworks. Capture your “gut decisions” in systems so they can be taught, repeated, and scaled.

The Broader Context: Female Leadership and the Lioness Model

Lionesses are not only hunters; they are protectors, providers, and the backbone of the pride. This mirrors the reality of female leadership in business today. Women leaders are often expected to balance transformation with relentless results.

The Lead Like a Lioness model is built on this duality: transformational vision with relentless execution. It is not enough to inspire; leaders must also deliver. It is not enough to protect; leaders must also grow. The lioness embodies this balance — and so must we.

Why This Matters Now

We are living in an era where boundaries blur easily:

Remote work dissolves traditional office walls.
Global markets erode geographic protection.
Digital platforms accelerate both growth and disruption.

Leaders who fail to set and defend boundaries will find themselves overwhelmed. Just like the villagers in Gujarat who stepped too close, the consequences of ignoring boundaries can be devastating.

But leaders who lead like lionesses — protecting their work, showing up where it matters, building rescue plans, and aligning instinct with strategy — will not only survive but dominate.

Conclusion

The Gujarat lioness did not act without reason. She defended her survival. Leadership is no different. Strength without boundaries creates chaos. Strength with clarity builds empires.

This is the essence of Lead Like a Lioness. When leaders combine transformational vision with relentless results, they protect their pride, scale their influence, and set the pace for others to follow.

If you want to explore this leadership framework in depth, my book Lead Like a Lioness is available now on Amazon. It is not just a book — it is a blueprint for leaders who want to claim their territory and grow their pride with authority and purpose.