Leadership Lessons From the Birds
There are so many lessons in Presence, in Community, Leadership and Cooperation we can learn from animals. Here’s just one more for the holidays. Before you roast that Christmas goose (if that’s your thing) check out what these community-minded fowl can teach us all.
Leadership Lessons We can Learn From Geese
Geese Fact: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the other birds to follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 70% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
Our Lesson: People who share a common direction and a sense of community get where they are going quicker and easier — because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
Geese Fact: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
Our Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
Geese Fact: When a goose tires, it rotates to the back of the formation as another goose flies to the point opposite.
Our Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities and unique arrangement of gifts, talents or resources.
Geese Fact: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Our Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups — where there is encouragement to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage the same in others — is the sort of honking we seek.
Geese Fact: When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out in formation and try to catch the flock.
Our Lesson: If we had as much sense as geese, we would stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.
Note: Though many others have been credited, Dr Robert McNeish of Baltimore, MD is the author of this piece, which was written in 1972 as a lay sermon delivered to Northminster Presbyterian Church in Reisterstown, MD. Dr McNeish was a biology teacher who enjoyed observing the geese on the eastern Atlantic shores of Maryland. Thanks to the exhaustive research of Sue Widemark for the provenance of this article.
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