In her bestselling book Caste, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson talks about the science of wolf packs and our misunderstanding of what keeps the dogs together: She discovered that while the alpha gets the attention and acclaim, it’s the omega who functions as the group’s heartbeat, the most essential canine, the most mourned when lost. This indicates to me that our obsession with the ones who stand in front means we miss the gifts of everyone else—we’re failing to recognize how the work gets done, who does it, and the essential role every one of us plays.
