We consider an experiment in which a rectangular flat plate is flapped with two degrees of freedom, and a genetic algorithm tunes its trajectory parameters so as to achieve maximum average lift force, thus evolving a population of trajectories all yielding optimal lift forces. We cluster the converged population by defining a dynamical formation number for a flapping flat plate, thus showing that optimal unsteady force generation is linked to the formation of a leading-edge vortex with maximum circulation. Force and digital particle image velocimetry measurements confirm this result.