Geese and their lessons on teamwork

As a young boy growing up in the village, I was very fortunate to watch special birds called geese. When you watch geese flying, you will realize they fly in large numbers and sometimes taking a V-shape. Every time I saw these birds, I wondered how they are able to fly long distances while staying on course.

And the answer lies in working together as a team. Here's the logic

Scientists in the recent past have discovered some amazing truths about these awesome birds, and we can use these truths to become better team players.

It’s been discovered that by flying in large numbers, the whole flock adds at least over 71% greater flying thrust than if each bird flew alone! That is, as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an up thrust for the bird immediately following. That’s exactly the kind of strength we can gain by being part of one great team.

Geese are able to fly longer distances and stay on course because they work on each other’s thrust. By working together to go a given direction, teams will arrive at the desired destination much quicker and using less energy because each individual is lifted by the momentum and positive energy of others around him or her.

Usually when the lead goose gets tired, it goes back while another fresh goose takes over the leadership role. Just like goose, we ought to take turns sharing the difficult tasks. If leadership can also be shared, the better. On highly effective teams, everyone has what it takes to lead or to support. Google researchers from Project Aristotle called this ''equality in distribution of conversational turn-taking. '' According to these researchers, as long as everyone gets an opportunity to speak, or to lead for example in meetings, the team performs well.

Again, when one goose falls off, gets sick, or gets wounded, usually two geese will follow it down as a way of offering support and protection to their vulnerable colleague. These two geese will stay with the wounded geese until it regains strength or dies. Teams flourish when members do more than just working together, but genuinely care for each other’s well being. Teams perform best where individuals have high social sensitivity towards other colleagues.

Effective people understand the power of working together picking an example from these special birds.

Connect with us for the best team building experience