{"id":690,"date":"2026-09-08T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T09:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/?p=690"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:51:10","slug":"lessons-from-geese-what-a-three-minute-video-taught-me-about-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/lessons-from-geese-what-a-three-minute-video-taught-me-about-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from Geese: What a three-minute video taught me about leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meg Burton | Cube | 4-minute read<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of a recent leadership programme, a day spent exploring trust, psychological safety, communication, teamwork, feedback and coaching, I did what I often do when I want a message to land: I played a short video clip called “Lessons from Geese”.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I first came across it back in 1995, on VHS of all things (yes, a proper video player, complete with the whir of the tape). It was a Video Arts production made by <\/span>Saatchi & Saatchi<\/span><\/a>, and over the years it’s been recreated in a few different forms. These days the version I reach for is <\/span>Breakthrough Global’s “The Line of One.”<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I still remember the impact it had on me the first time I watched it, and all these years later, it still moves me. Here’s what all leaders can learn from Lessons from Geese. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Lessons from Geese?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

It’s a three-minute film, set to music, telling the story of lessons from geese. It has five simple lessons and a genuinely powerful metaphor for teamwork and support. The ideas pre-date the 1995 commercial, with the leadership story being attributed to science teacher Dr Robert McNeish, who first told it around 1972.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film illustrates something geese do instinctively: the teamwork, encouragement, communication, trust and support they show when flying in formation to reach their destination. I know the concept isn’t scientific in any rigorous sense, and there are now several updated versions flying around with newer soundtracks. But the motivational core – trust, encouragement and teamwork – still resonates. Here are five lessons, and what I think they mean for us as leaders and teams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n