02 Oct Takeoff and Leadership
Today I got inspired by a post of Simona Paun ((1) Simona Paun | LinkedIn) sharing about plane’s takeoff. After many flights experiencing diverse distances, I’m still anxious on takeoffs, turbulences, landings. Meanwhile I’m curious to learn more about it and I’m grateful to Simona for her inspiring posts!
“Takeoff is a critical phase for the flight in aviation
In short, takeoff demands precision and swift decision making to navigate its complexities:
- Reaction time is limited due to speed and proximity to the ground
- Crosswinds, wind shear or gusts can impact aircraft stability
- Systems transition from ground to flight modes
- Specific speeds are crucial
- Engines operates at high trust, magnifying any anomalies
- Precise performance calculations are essential.“
Reflecting on it, I discovered similarities with leadership and its context, business systems and people.
How many times have you been to a kick off’s meeting, marking the start of a big new project ?
And how many times have you been in moments when, as a leader, you needed to act quickly, take a decision, and assume it as if there was an emergency or something unexpected occurred? How many times have you taken steps which you were not comfortable with? And how many times did you give yourself time to reflect on them or ask for guided support?
Most of the time any decision is better than no decision.
Exposure, knowledge, exercise are elements of continuous preparation. In addition, there is a crucial need for pausing while resting properly, reflecting, creating space for information to land, and be integrated.
In aviation there are clear regulations in terms of hours of flying, pausing, total number of flying hours related to experience on a certain plane type, and so on. Pilots and companies are aligned to them for maintaining the safety of passengers, pilots, crew, plane, cargo.
Within the actual complex business environment, leaders and companies have the freedom to co-create their frames of working, to ensure safety, motivation, and engagement of people.
I often hear the phrase “I work till 7pm or 8pm and then I’m not able to attend a coaching session, or to go to gym. I must take care of my children and spend some time with my family.”
Most of the time we take easier decisions for others than for self. And from what I have experienced personally, each of us is the only one who can decide for self and about when to pause and act.
What’s your next takeoff? How do you prepare for it?
Let’s talk about it!
#takeoff #leadership #preparation