The Victory Circle by Monique A. J. Smith
Leadership Strategist, Athleticpreneur ™
One of my 2022 resolutions is to take time to see what nature is telling me. This is a mindfulness activity that keeps me centered. One must remain centered on hearing the downloads from God. Those downloads allow me to perform in my gift of "Growing Leaders, One Workshop, One Training at a time."
One morning, I was en route to conduct training with a State Athletic Association, and I observed several flocks of geese traveling above my head. I found that ironic because the signature workshop I was preparing to give that day was "Getting Gung Ho!" based on the business book "Gung Ho!" by Ken Blanchard. The book walks the reader through the wilderness to observe the work ethic of three species, the Squirrel, the Beaver, and Geese. You will be surprised what you can learn from nature when we just slow down.
So again, these geese caught my eye, and yes, I saw the peak of the "V" formation, but as I looked further back, I saw the line wasn't so clearly defined in the back of the V. It was as if, the geese in the back were trying to find their spot and rhythm These geese were still moving with the group but in clusters. In addition, there was a constant movement from the front to back to help guide geese in back to get in line.
Now I am not only a presenter, but now I am a bona fide bird watcher. Ha!
This new mindfulness experience gave me new material to share, a new point of view, new data was received related to team/staff. Creating a narrative to teach a concept is the best teaching method, this is what is shared.
The Imperfect V
When flying in formation, it doesn't have to be a Perfect V
Every team member will have different speeds of accomplishing goals based on their experiences. Some may be reluctant to try new methods because they do not want to seem imperfect. Need to convey to each other, "we will get further together." "It won't look pretty at first, but we can find the team rhythm together."
Consistency and Progress over Perfection
When trying to find the rhythm, the measuring stick needs to shorten, measure consistency instead and celebrate the progress toward the goal. One of the benefits of flying in a V, the collective wind momentum can carry others until they can catch up.
Communicating with energy, encouragement, and keep engagement
The honking is what most people remember about the geese. It is used to encourage and inform. The flock encourages the lead goose, and the lead reports to the others "my shift is over, time for the next leader." From this, we learn the most critical element, must continually communicate to uplift while also sharing individual needs and status.
With these 3 methods, even an Imperfect V can reach its desired destination, "The Victory Circle."
Comments
Post a Comment