Making a Career Pivot, Pilot Edition: Part 4
Welcome back to another article in this series aimed at helping pilots translate their valuable skills and providing perspective on ways to apply their experience as they leave the cockpit and venture into another chapter of their professional life. This article is for you if you’ve ever worried about being buried too deep with experience in your specific career field to make a successful pivot, or have ever struggled to translate specific skills that made you great at your job. I encourage anyone, whether you’re affiliated with aviation or not, to continue reading for a pilot’s perspective and outlook on attempting a successful career pivot.
Bottom Line Up Front: Aviators Make Great Leaders and Have Exceptional Situational Awareness and a Professional Demeanor
In my last articles, I highlighted that an aviator’s attitude, confidence, awareness, self-discipline, and communication only scratched the surface in making aviators successful leaders. In this installment, we’ll cover the additional assets of a calm demeanor and heightened situational awareness; they are equally requisite attributes that make aviators excel in their profession as well as excellent leaders. Just to leave you with something to be desired, I’ll cover the additional aspects of risk management, problem solving, crew coordination/teamwork, unparalleled decisiveness, technical awareness, and expert judgement in future articles. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read through this installment of “Navigating a Career Pivot: Pilot Edition,” and I encourage you to check out previous and future articles in this series. I look forward to any feedback that you can offer based on your perspectives and experiences or any discussions that these opinions spark! Now let’s get into it…
It’s All About the Three C’s
What three C’s are you referring to? Just google a version of the phrase and see what pops up; you get everything from guidelines for leadership, addiction recovery, or principles that apply to credit. What I’m talking about isn’t found on the web, rather I’m talking about the art of remaining cool, calm, and collected.
Remaining calm is a critical skill for leaders to master in high pressure situations, and it is an essential skill for every aviator. Yes—answering a question from someone in the C-suite, in a large boardroom around peers, might be unnerving. And preparing for a huge pitch to potential customers can be stressful; however, I charge that these situations don’t carry the same burden as aviation events similar to what Captain Tammie Jo Shults faced when her Southwest (Flight 1380) Boeing 737 experienced an engine failure (explosion) and rapid cabin depressurization. Pilots like Captains Sullenberger (mentioned in an earlier article as the US Airways Captain that landed in the Hudson River) and Shults succeeded in the handling of their career defining events and were able to bring nearly all of their passengers back down to earth, alive—due to their calm, collected demeanor in the handling of emergencies. You may claim that these are extreme examples; but, from an aviation professional’s perspective, it’s our job to handle extreme. Every successful pilot memorizes emergency sequences, familiarizes themselves with potential actions and consequences, repeatedly practices iterations in simulators, and continues to gain experience through teachings/experiences of those around them. The intent of these actions is to instill certain responses, in a cool, calm, and collected, fashion; in order to promote a prompt, smooth, and appropriate reaction in the event of any emergency situation.
To further elaborate on this topic, I implore you to find an example of a hero in aviation that was faced with some sort of adversity and didn’t act in a calm, cool, and collected manner. Listen to gun tapes from attack helicopters, recordings from fighter engagements, or radios from helicopters conducting a precise insertion to a high threat target. Yes, you’ll hear elevated voices or specific tones reflecting the significance of an event, but people put in these positions are the most capable in remaining calm and executing when lives are on the line—they do this well. They train for these events by routinely spiking the adrenaline pumping in their veins and regulating the body’s response. Listen to the multitude of radio transmissions from airliner or general aviation pilots communicating requests to air traffic control (ATC) during their own emergencies; in each event that ends with a pilot, crew, and passengers safely back on the ground, you won’t hear crippling panic or anxiety that clouds the pilot’s ability to safely deal with adversity.
Most people who wash out of flight training do so for an inability to execute under pressure—their inability to remain calm. Someone may never get an endorsement to solo because they can’t handle the competing demands of talking on the radio, turning from downwind to base (legs of traffic pattern), lowering flaps another increment, or managing the engine RPMs and airspeed simultaneously. These tasks effectively overwhelm them and elicit a panicked reaction, losing their cool. There are lots of examples of things that may stress or task-saturate aviators and affect their ability to remain calm & collected. Routinely practicing these events and carefully injecting manufactured stressors in the training environment only improves an aviator’s ability to remain calm when the world around them may be on fire. By remaining calm, the pilot-in-command (PIC) of an aircraft will promote confidence in the rest of the crew or their passengers in the face of all possible adversity. It’s not about repressing fear or suffocating competing emotions during stressful events; rather, it is an aviator’s ability to remain even keeled, addressing issues or emergencies in a rapid, methodical, and confident manner—maintaining their calm demeanor. Though leaders outside of the military don’t train with an intent to trigger this kind of response, or train the same events as aviators or others in the military, they must make the conscious effort to remain calm and collected in the formulation of their thoughts when they find themselves in stressful, sensitive, or complex situations.
Leaders must approach situations with a realistic, yet optimistic, perspective. While they must also ignite and inspire their teams, they have to understand any complex dynamics that may affect how their teams deal with any variety of situations. Remaining calm as a leader should not be misunderstood as being reserved, relaxed, or removed from normal conditions; rather, when faced with a specific problem or adversity in “on the spot” questions or requests (when the adrenaline starts pumping), they need to be calm in order to formulate a thoughtful (not hasty) response. This calmness will show those around them and other members of their team that they are capable of thinking rationally, acting logically, and understanding the various aspects or complex dynamics surrounding a specific issue or problem. Others will take notice and value their cool, calm, and collected demeanor in professional environments, not just on the flight deck.
Environmental Awareness
This next topic shouldn’t need much of an introduction. It IS a big deal, and it affects just about every aspect of our lives. Whether it’s navigating social situations or navigating a complex transition in congested airspace, situational awareness is an absolute keystone skill. Aviators can’t just possess situational awareness; they must master it. Elevating their awareness of the entire situation and environment at the highest level. There are books on situational awareness, and it can apply in so many different facets of life. As it pertains to both aviators and leaders, it remains a broad competence; ranging from solid emotional intelligence in dealing with all stakeholders (the pilot’s crew members, passengers, or fellow pilots) to good technical understanding of their specific program or mission (their aircraft and very specific performance limitations or envelopes). This level of situational awareness can be summarized in a person’s appreciation of everything going on around them—in every phase of flying, controlling, and maintaining their craft.
Leaders and aviators must be conscious of every aspect affecting their operations, with particular interest in safety and risk mitigation. Though the consequences of poor situational awareness may not be the same for all leaders, good aviators make exceptional leaders because they are always aware of each aspect of their surroundings. After all, they’ve executed under the premise that failing to have this awareness can (and does) lead to fatal consequences such as inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC—unintentionally flying into the clouds and losing control, becoming spatially disoriented), incursion into unauthorized airspace (triggering fighter jet escort and personal air show on their wing), failure to follow instructions from a tower controller at a busy airport (causing delays to takeoffs/landings of other aircraft), or just reference a recent aviation accident that killed Kobe Bryant and 8 other occupants earlier this year when their helicopter flew into the rising terrain in questionable weather.
Aviators will always be aware of the world around them, both on the ground and in the air. They must have the ability to visualize environments, especially when flying under instrument meteorological conditions (in the clouds); following specific vectors or holding circular patterns waiting to make a controlled approach into an airport based on their carefully planned and coordinated times. Helicopter pilots will always be aware of the terrain and the possibility for certain conditions to change depending on where they plan to land. General aviation pilots have to be aware of other aircraft flying in the traffic pattern at their local fields. Pilots must know where other aircraft are based on radio calls both at their home airport and when talking with an air traffic control center as they fly cross country. Aviators need the mental agility to triangulate traffic based on altitudes and position reports relative to their current location, and they need to be able to spot traffic flying at nearby fields just by monitoring the radios. Situational awareness is, perhaps, the most valuable skill that all aviators must master. Solid situational awareness will ensure continued progression in any aviation capacity—whether it is in military, general, or commercial aviation. Fast movers, or jets capable of pushing the sound barrier, cruise much faster and have much less time to react to other aircraft, requests made by a ATC, or instructions from tactical controllers on a battlefield—all of these can affect missions or flight safety if the pilot isn’t aware of his/her surroundings or how to modulate his/her speed within the aircraft’s maneuvering or airspace limitations. I’m not a jet pilot, so it’s probably not the best example to use… but situational awareness was absolutely critical in my training, progression, and deployments with my specific aviation unit.
When it comes to the detailed aviation planning, tactical knowledge, aircraft knowledge, customer support, or complex mission sets, mastering situational awareness was one of the most critical aspects in providing superior customer support to other units. Delivering on a high standard of arriving +/-30 seconds of our planned/established time on target, precisely ON target. Not just an arbitrary vicinity, but THE specific target—whether it signified effects/munitions on a compound, assault landing to the ground at a specific 10 digit grid, fast rope infill to the roof of a numbered building on our detailed imagery, or the deployment of special equipment somewhere/somehow only known to the pilots and customers; all of these precise actions happen within a specified window. Being bound by location, timing, or additional complex elements puts a lot of pressure on crews, but when there are a dozen pilots or more working together, planning each minuscule event and contingency in extreme detail, things seem to come together. From the military helicopter pilot perspective, this level of planning, detail, and strict standard promotes a heightened awareness of our positions in time/space, giving us essential awareness of spatial orientation and arms us with better knowledge to manage the complex systems of our aircraft as they aid our missions. This level of total awareness is ingrained in military pilots from the beginning of training; in the form of aircraft performance factors/limitations and a constant awareness of fuel status—two of the more critical elements that can lead to self-induced emergencies. I’m sure you’re yearning for a specific story involving the black helicopters and situational awareness… but I won’t waste my breath. The truth is, situational awareness is a pivotal part of every flight, whether it is just a routine training trip around the pattern, a quick 15-minute maintenance verification test flight, or a twenty-one-helicopter formation flight.
I could easily keep going regarding situational awareness, but I won’t. Another critical competent to a pilot’s total SA deals with his/her inward focus and awareness within the crew environment. You don’t have to be a psychologist or specialize in dealing with people to understand how they think. Whether you’re a PIC, co-pilot, First Officer, Captain, Chief Warrant Officer 5, Second Lieutenant, or just a crew member, having a solid ability to deal with your counterparts and other members of the crew is a key part of situational awareness. Crew coordination is a large piece of this puzzle, and can simply be defined as elements of verbal and non-verbal communication, duty delegation among crew members, and common understanding that stems from mission briefs. As human beings and as leaders, we have to understand human behavior and utilize appropriate techniques to deal with each other and arrive at the intended outcomes. Whether it’s utilizing the most efficient teaching method to relay a specific point or a different tone to address or prevent significant mistakes that could lead to a self-induced emergency, aviators and leaders must be aware of who is in their audience and how their intended message should be communicated most effectively. Flight instructors have used these principles as the fundamentals of instructing as a means to effectively teach students.
These same foundational elements can also be applied by effective leaders in their aim to inspire or rally their team. These principles include an understanding of personality types and how they interact with one another, human needs and motivation, human nature, human factors that may inhibit learning, and the potential for emotional reactions. While it’s unreasonable to assume that all leaders and aviators have mastered human interactions with respect to each previously mentioned tenet of human behavior, having a working knowledge of each area will allow both good pilots and effective leaders to handle their interpersonal interactions more effectively. Aviators have the necessary experience to lead others effectively based on their daily interactions and duties. Ranging from the motivation of team members to clearly communicating their intent to a everyone around them, successful pilots communicate well and make exemplary leaders.
Next Issues
Thanks for taking a look through these points on situational awareness and demeanor. I’ll continue to highlight key attributes that make successful aviators great leaders by touching on the self discipline, mitigation/management of risks, critical thinking, effective teamwork, decisiveness, technical awareness, and expert judgement in future articles. This list is not all-inclusive and I’m sure that there will be additional, valid points brought to my attention through discussions and feedback. If you’re thinking about your own transition or are struggling to translate the skills that you already have, I hope this series of articles will help shape your mindset as you accelerate down the runway, giving you confidence as you take off into a new career beyond the cockpit.
Note: For additional visuals to help shape your mental image of anything (planes/helicopters/tasks) I touched on, YouTube and Google are great resources. This article was originally published by Josh Martin on LinkedIn.
