six-animals

Six-Animal Model

A group collaboration framework by Dr. Simon McCallum that uses six animal avatars to represent beneficial behaviours in team projects. Built on McClelland's Three Needs Theory and Self-Determination Theory (SDT).

Website: http://103.224.130.189 (migrating to six-animals.co.nz once the domain is registered)

The Six Animals

Animal	Role	Core Behaviour	Primary Need	SDT Focus
Bear	Visionary/Leader	Speaks when nobody else speaks; articulates vision and makes decisions	Achievement (nAch)	Competence
Cat	Cynic/Risk Manager	Identifies what could go wrong; questions assumptions and flags risks	Power (nPow)	Autonomy
Owl	Process Manager	Ensures meetings move forward; tracks progress and forces decisions	Power (nPow)	Autonomy
Puppy	Enthusiast	Supports every idea; maintains positive energy and spots opportunities	Affiliation (nAff)	Relatedness
Rabbit	Facilitator	Makes sure everyone has what they need; communicates with stakeholders	Achievement (nAch)	Competence
Wolf	Manager/Pack Leader	Tells the Bear to "shut up"; ensures everyone is participating	Affiliation (nAff)	Relatedness

Simon Agent (Supervisor)

The Simon agent is a meta-level pedagogue/supervisor that sits above the six animal roles. It analyses conversation to identify which animal someone is playing, coaches role performance, and facilitates effective group collaboration. Simon operates as the "guide on the side" rather than a seventh group member.

Theoretical Foundation

The model combines two psychological frameworks:

McClelland's Three Needs Theory:

• nAch (Achievement) — Drive to succeed and receive performance feedback
• nPow (Power) — Drive to influence, control, and make decisions
• nAff (Affiliation) — Drive to belong, connect, and maintain relationships

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) mapped to Te Ao Maori:

• Agency / Mana motuhake — Feeling in control of your own goals
• Competence / Pumanawa — Feeling effective and capable
• Relatedness / Manaaki — Feeling connected to others and community

For collectivist cultures (Maori, Pasifika, and others), these three elements are interconnected and cannot be developed in isolation.

How It Works

1. Role Selection — Each group member chooses an animal that resonates with their interaction style
2. Group Formation — Teams are formed with six different animals, ensuring diversity of perspective
3. Rapid Storming — Pre-defined roles reduce power struggles and accelerate through Tuckman's storming phase
4. Psychological Safety — The animal personas provide a buffer from personal criticism (feedback targets the role, not the person)
5. Fair Distribution — Every member has defined responsibilities, preventing free-riding

Multi-classing Rules

Some animals can combine roles; others cannot:

Combination	Allowed?	Reason
Bear + Wolf	No	Cannot both lead and manage participation simultaneously
Cat + Puppy	No	Cannot be both critical and enthusiastic simultaneously
Wolf + Puppy	Yes	Combines participation management with encouragement
Owl + Cat	Yes	Combines process control with risk awareness
Owl + Rabbit	Yes	Combines progress tracking with resource facilitation

Using as Claude Code Skills

These animal agents are designed to work as Claude Code skills. Each can be invoked as a slash command to apply that animal's perspective to your work.

Installation

Option 1: Project-level skills (this repo)

Clone the repo and the skills in skills/ are available when working within this project:

git clone https://github.com/user/six-animals.git
cd six-animals
# Skills are available as /bear-agent, /cat-agent, etc.

Option 2: Copy to your project

Copy the .claude/skills/ directory into any project:

cp -r six-animals/.claude/skills/ your-project/.claude/skills/

Option 3: Personal skills (all projects)

Copy to your home directory for global availability:

cp -r six-animals/.claude/skills/ ~/.claude/skills/

Available Commands