My literacy coach and I are navigating country roads lead by GPS on our way to a cognitive coaching training. I slow down for a moment so we can take in the beauty of deer scattered throughout a field with geese flying overhead in a breathtaking V-formation.
“Did you know geese change leadership at the tip of the V when they get tired?” Kim says to me. I ponder this for a second. “No, I didn’t realize that, but what a great metaphor for collective efficacy and shared leadership?” I joke with her that it will be a great blog post one day… and she hasn’t let me forget it!
A quick google search shows that many companies and leaders have examined the behavior of geese in flight to highlight lessons for their employees. My favorite was the 7Geese blog - 7 Lessons We Can Learn From Geese to Succeed at Work; sharing a common goal, increasing visibility, having humility to seek help, empowering others to lead, always recognizing great work, supporting each other in challenging times, and staying committed to core values and purpose.
Since my blog post promised to Kim seemed virtually written already by many in various fields, I decided to dig a little further into the science of formation flight.
According to Ed Yong in the article, Birds that fly in a V Formation Use an Amazing Trick, birds save energy by flying in the “upwash” zone of the bird in front to get a free lift - they take advantage of the momentum of their team mates. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own (Legend of the Geese). As practitioners in the education field, teachers do this often through collaboration and sharing resources, taking the busy work out of best practices for one another. This of course requires a great deal of both communication and trust.
As disciples of Christ, we give our flight mates a lift by being open to the Holy Spirit and freely responding to the prompts of charity that are possible within the most mundane and unexpected encounters in a day. In the past few months I have been the humble recipient of this type of generosity, and yes, it kept me in flight despite the turbulence my family was facing while my husband was ill.
As birds move collectively to their common goal, they also swap around a lot - changing leadership along the way. How well do we trust our family, team, or parish to take over when we need it? What aspects of our temperament prohibit us from the humility we need to allow for this shift or to give us the confidence to take the lead when our team or community needs us most?
Trust.
Most significantly, how do we do this but remain in perfect flight? How do we maintain the harmony and peace required to get to our shared goal?
Trust, again.
The same article in National Geographic explains that birds use their flap cycle to track the good air. “Imagine that a flying ibis leaves a red trail with its left wingtip as it moves through the air. The right wingtip of the bird behind would travel through almost exactly the same path. ‘It’s like walking through the snow with your parents when you’re a kid…if you follow their footprints, they make our job easier because they’ve crunched the snow down.’”
But how exactly do birds in flight do this? The scientists hypothesize by either watching the bird in front, using their feathers to sense the air flow, or simply relying on positive feedback. I found this last one quite interesting as there is so much research in the field of education related to the power of feedback.
When I apply the science of birds to my work life, I realize how important it is to simply trust my team, to be humble enough to know when I should imitate a flap cycle rather than try to take the lead, and to be confident enough to know when I must venture to the front of the formation because my team needs me. If we all practice growth mindset with virtue, peace and harmony are possible as we collaborate to achieve the good things we wish for the community we serve.
Another study shows that as geese reach higher altitudes they actually reduce their metabolism in line with the reduced amount of oxygen available. I think how often teams scramble when we see data that does not confirm all of the hard work of our team. Or, the state of paralysis that can occur when our oxygen is reduced by factors seemingly out of our control. So often we panic and pile on more solutions rather than “reduce our metabolism” by revisiting our focus, moral purpose, and minimizing initiatives.
At my school, it would be a return to what we value most - a more laser sharp focus on small group instruction. Perception data shows this is the number one strategy we collectively value to address the whole child, academically and social-emotionally, to build relationships and be intentional about knowing and delivering what each child needs. For us everything stems from creating opportunities to build these relationships and respond.
Today in the Catholic church we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God - World Day of Peace. Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange writes in the Magnificat daily meditation that Mary, “never failed in promptitude to obey the divine inspirations… the dignity of Mary surpasses therefore that of all the saints combined.” She is the perfect model of virtue to reach our heavenly goal.
On a spiritual level, I think of Mary and of all the saints…I think of the “footprints” they leave behind to help me grow in virtue by following the pattern of their flight. I realize how much I don’t know about their lives and the commitment it will take to be more intentional about my calling to sainthood as part of His heavenly formation. With Mary, care of my soul is her number one concern and she isn’t limited to groups of five. She wants to know me intimately and guide me - one on one.
I begin to reflect upon the trust I must have in Mary. I can count on the fact that I will fail daily and fall out of formation, but I can equally count on the fact that Mary, my heavenly mother, through her divine graces will correct my flight if I ask her to lead me to her son through every mission.
I know one thing, it is not GPS that is going to get me to my final destination. It is by Mary’s heavenly footprint that I trod, seeking the glories of eternal life to live forever with her in the communion of saints in the place the Lord has prepared specially for me.
