The Flock Strategy (The Wonder Dispatch)
Moving together in uncertain times
Dear Tracker~
If you’ve ever watched a murmuration of starlings, you’ve seen thousands of birds ripple and swoop in sync with no single leader barking orders (do birds bark?), yet somehow they turn, rise, and settle as one flock.
In business, especially when you’re steering a complex endeavor, that kind of movement is a lot like the belonging you want with your “flock” of peers who help you navigate uncertainty without losing your individual vision.
We’re told - or at least I got the message early on - to “go it alone” as entrepreneurs and creatives. And, listen, I check the boxes for an introverted creative thinker who thrives for long periods in contemplation and solitude.
And yet. And yet.
In my body of work I’ve realized that belonging is an advantage to flourishing and fulfillment, and I would like to think that both in my life and work I have evolved to recognize the power of running with packs and co-syncing flocks (choose your metaphor).
When flourishing innovators and change-makers work in sync with the right people, they tend to make sharper decisions. They also often can recover from setbacks faster, and they definitely can sustain momentum on the long road of building something that matters.
In this week’s Wonder Dispatch, I’m reflecting on the power of the right flock and how to find them.
In this week’s Wonder Dispatch:
Jeffrey’s Main Wondering: Why your next important move may depend on who’s beside you when you take it
Community Howl-Outs: Celebrating moments of courage and connection from our community
Resources for Curiosity & Connection
Note: After 15 years of sending the Wonder Dispatch weekly, I’m shifting to a bi-monthly rhythm to deepen the quality, make space for bigger ideas, and ensure that each issue feels more like a gift to open.
Lesson from the murmur
Researchers from Princeton and Italy studying starling flocks found that each bird tracks just 6–7 of its nearest neighbors. They don’t copy every move. Instead, they co-sense the environment together, adjusting instantly to subtle changes. (This Shot of Wonder talks more about this insight.)
Co-sense? In his remarkable book (and course) Theory U, Otto Scharmer, senior lecturer at MIT, calls this relational activity “co-sensing”: listening deeply, not just to each other’s words but to what’s emerging in the situation.
His framing tracks with what we call Sensory Presence. Sensory Presence is the disciplined practice of listening with the body and eyes so that perception becomes a reliable guide for decisions, creativity, and relationship.
In a murmuration, co-presencing means scanning the sky for hawks and open air currents. In your work, it means spotting opportunities, threats, and creative openings you might miss alone.
The magic is that the flock moves as a whole without a rigid plan. That’s what most complex business challenges require - more responsiveness than control or than a rigid fixation on following a plan.
What I am describing might seem apparent if you work for a university or organization or operate as part of a remote team or if you’re a business owner with your own team.
What might be less apparent is if you’re a lone entrepreneur, small business owner, creative thinker, or knowledge worker who has impactful work or ideas to advance - but has no coworkers or team members at your side.
And if that’s you, what I’m describing is perhaps more important than ever.
Where breakthrough happens
Consider the difference between your thinking in a silo or within a flock.
When you’re listening by default, you’re listening to confirm your own biases. Your view of reality stays the same. Your resistance to wonder and possibility wins out.
You can’t presence or co-create in a vacuum. Your best work often requires other minds and hearts. I see it happen over and over both with teams I’ve worked with and especially with Inner Circles I lead.
Being synced up with the right flock helps you see what you can’t see because they stand outside of your blind spots. They help you experiment and refine your ideas before you overinvest in the wrong direction. They help you sustain momentum when self-doubt, overwhelm, or “idea fatigue” creeps in.
And they can call you to your highest self - your genius and devotion and virtue.
What the right flock can do for one
In Tracking Wonder, I describe Connection as The Flock Facet. Connection as a facet of wonder is the capacity to cultivate and belong to a small, trusted group of people who both challenge and embolden you as you explore the space of possibility and wonder among you.
The right flock sharpens each member’s perception.
When you’ve been staring at the same product, proposal, or manuscript for weeks, your focus narrows. You see the tree bark, but not the forest edge. A peer’s fresh perspective can reveal a missing question, a misaligned assumption, or a new market angle sometimes in a single conversation. And that is a wonder.
The right flock accelerates each person’s decisions without rushing.
Momentum can be contagious. A peer’s recent launch or pivot can spark you to act on the thing you’ve been circling for months. Instead of languishing in overthinking, you find yourself moving sometimes faster than your inner critic thinks you should.
The right flock expands each person’s courage.
It’s one thing to leap on your own. It’s another thing to leap knowing someone’s on the next ledge ready to steady you, so to speak.
I’ve been listening to
’s Sunday talks on courage, poetry, and living a centered life. He notes that “Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work.”“Heartfelt participation.” Yes to that.
In the right circle, courage is a shared current that carries each of us further than any one of us had imagined.
Without that kind of flock, some people risk drifting into an echo chamber of their own making. Their inner critic becomes the only counsel they consult. And the subtle shifts in their market, audience, or craft pass unnoticed until it’s too late to respond.
By the way, author of The Wild Why and fellow wonder-tracker
calls your inner critter “just a scared child who knows exactly what to say to break our heart. It's time to put her down for a much-needed nap.”Yes to that, too.
Finding Your Flock
If you’re an entrepreneur, creative, or leader, here’s what you might look for:
Shared commitment, but not sameness – Differences in expertise and experience spark fresh ideas, but shared commitment and devotion to meaningful work keeps the group aligned.
High trust, high challenge – A safe and brave space to take risks paired with honest feedback.
Rhythm and ritual – Regular check-ins, clear norms, and consistent practices that keep the energy alive.
A culture of generosity – People who give as much as they receive.
The payoff is you stop circling the runway and actually take off because your flock gives you both lift and direction.
Your Turn to Wonder
»> What ideas does this Dispatch stir up in you?
Feel free to reply or share in our Wonder HUB thread. I read each note. Thanks for your contribution to the conversation.
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Remember: With the right flock or pack, you might find that you move with more grace than you could imagine.
So much is possible.
Community Howl-Outs & Celebrations
Penguin Random House | North Atlantic Books will publish TW branding academy alum and soon-to-be TW Inner Circle member Alicia King Anderson’s book Burnout Recovery: Healing from Workplace Stress with Nature’s Wisdom - for professionals, creatives, and neurodivergent minds. This book is timely and needed. Congrats, Alicia!
TWIC MasterMinder Jay Nelson pivoted this cycle from leading in the military to leading his own business. Phoenix 6 Leadership Coaching has launched with first clients already in line. Congrats, Jay!
On Jeffrey’s and Team TW’s Radar
Send us an article, video, podcast episode, poem, or something else (preferably not your own) that you think other fans of The Wonder HUB would appreciate.
Tuning Yourself to Moments of Awe (
| The Creative Act)Critical Thinking in the Age of AI (Shae, PhD candidate at Harvard | YouTube) - One of the most lucid reviews of the “artificial” in AI - and why your intelligence matters. And as someone who once taught critical thinking in university classes, I hunger for more teaching of critical thinking in this world. - h/t to TW Executive Assistant
!Synchronocity (Katia Airel | psyche)
Well, I’m honored to work with you here, and I’ll see you soon.
Thanks for running with me,
Thank you Jeff for this important point of view - especially now, indeed!
kind regards,
aggie damron