Lessons in Leadership from the Birds!

Birds teaching good leadership skills? Really?

Just take a look at this. In fact I so like the leadership message it spells out, I started using the metaphor in mentoring teams with clients.

1: As each goose flaps its wings it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

People who share a common direction can get where they are going quicker with the support of one another.

2: 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.

If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go.

3: When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.

It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership..

4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

We need to make sure our honking is always encouraging.

5: 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.

If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in both difficult and good times.

I’m sure you see the point.

A couple of years ago, I moved house to what I soon came to realise is in a very privileged location. I found myself in a prime position to regularly view flocks of Canadian geese.

In addition to personally endorsing the above, I can also tell you for instance, that when the geese are feeding, there is always one that doesn’t. He assumes the leadership and stands on guard to make sure the rest of team aren’t exposed to danger.

In his book ‘Close to the Wind’, around the world yachtsman Pete Goss, explains the circumstances that made him give up his chance of winning the Vendee Globe in December 1996, when he went 160 miles out of his way to rescue the almost dead French sailor Raphael Dinelli. I met Pete in 2002 and asked him how; with so many others in the race it fell on him to abandon his chance of winning. His answer was quite simple. ‘When someone needs your help – you just help them’, he said. ‘I was the nearest’.

My work often involves me in supporting clients in building their confidence and enhancing their leadership skills. Not just identifying what’s working and doing more of it but discarding what isn’t working. By helping them to break old patterns and bring about change (what’s not working) and establish new ones, new patterns of behaviour once established soon become instinctive.

Pete, just like the geese, was acting on his instinct. Does this mean then that the skills of leadership are simply instinctive and that you either have them or you don’t? I think not! On the other hand, learning to recognise and trust your instinct is a great place to start!