In the world of geese flight everyone has a shot at being a leader, all are followers at some point, and everybody is expected to cheer.

My house is apparently in a flight zone. Let the weather turn even slightly cool and geese fly over in any number of formations, from long lines to deep Vs. I see them and think of all the motivational posters I’ve seen and speakers I’ve heard who used the geese in formation analogy to talk about teams. I may be piling on here, but after a discussion with some students a few weeks ago, I thought it might be worth repeating.

Leaders Wanted
It’s interesting to see a flock of geese take to the skies. At first the group can seem disorganized and chaotic. But soon enough a pattern emerges with one goose in front and the others taking up the various positions behind. In his excellent book Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek discusses how people are hardwired to let the Alphas lead, giving them the best of the spoils with the expectation that those same individuals will provide protection and assistance when needed. I don’t know if that’s exactly what happens in the goose world, but it’s clear someone has to step up and lead the way. Without this leader, the whole flock is doomed to chaotic and inefficient travel, which could jeopardize the community.

The same thing is needed in organizations all over the world. Even if everyone in the group doesn’t believe fully in the exact path to the goal there needs to be some alignment that someone will lead and others will take up positions behind to help the group get there. Intel invokes their Disagree and Commit slogan to signal that once the decision has been made to move, it’s time to get moving.

Your Turn!
I worked in an agency once that liked to use team analogies. A lot. But they were almost always focused on being the ideal leader, or being the perfect soldier behind a great leader. I knew when I got criticized as a senior manager for not always having the winning idea that it was time to leave.

Geese have a better grasp on this leader and soldier rotation concept. They recognize that the lead goose is taking the full force of the wind in order to make life a little easier for the rest of the flock. But they also recognize that being in front wears on a guy. So when the time comes to give the lead goose a breather, he or she is able to coast back in to formation and recharge so he or she can lead again when the time comes.

It’s irresponsible to think that any leader can always have the best idea, and all the answers. It’s much healthier for the organization to surround the leader with a strong team that can step in and give the leader time to recharge.

Honk. You’re Doing Great! Keep it Up!
I don’t speak goose, but those who study these things say that one of the fundamental reasons geese honk during flight is to encourage each other, from the guy in back trying to keep up to the lead goose setting the pace. Their constant pep talk helps the whole group do a better job. When’s the last time you worked in that kind of organization?

It’s much easier to sit behind the leader and criticize. When you’re not getting beaten by the wind, when you don’t face the same pressures every day, it’s easy to judge the person ahead of you. Don’t. Find the leader guilty of doing well. Send her a note. Tell her you appreciate what she’s doing. Don’t do to it to suck up to her, that won’t help anyone. But you benefit when she does well. And when your time comes, you have every right to expect her to be your biggest supporter.

I talk to company leaders all the time who tell me how isolated they feel at the top—because people guard their words, both good and bad. In healthy organizations, a foundation of trust means anyone in the building can give a honk out to the leaders around them. And when those leaders need bit of a breather they should expect that people won’t hyper analyze the pause as failure, but only a respite in a long journey.

Lead, Follow and Encourage the Whole Journey
What is your team’s approach? Are you celebrating the best of each member and encouraging people to lead in their moments? Or do you burn through leaders when they’re not perfect at all jobs? Do you welcome new leaders and new ideas? Or push out whomever and whatever doesn't conform?

One last thought: migrating geese set big goals to reach destinations far beyond the reach of one or two birds. Yet when they work together, encourage each other, and let each bird lead when he or she is in peak form, the whole community reaches the goal.

Maybe it’s time we finally recognize that we are better together. You lead, I’ll encourage. Then I’ll lead, and while you rest a bit, how about giving a few honks every now and then?