Unusual Attitudes

An important part of learning to fly is learning to deal with "unusual attitudes".   You're flying along on a nice day, and look down at the map for just a moment, and when you look up again you find the horizon is in a funny place.   Or perhaps there is no horizon, only blue sky.   Or perhaps there is no sky at all - maybe the ground is filling the windscreen.   No matter what the cause, as the pilot-in-command, you must deal with the situation.

I remember a flight lesson from long ago where, taking off from an icy runway, the plane started to drift towards the snow bank along the side of the runway.   The flight instructor asked what I was doing, and I replied the plane was drifting over because of the ice.   He corrected me by saying that it was I who was allowing the plane to drift.  This was an epiphany not just as it related to taking off that day, but also as it related to my career and my personal life.

Too often, we find ourselves in professional situations which can seem overwhelming - dealing with an overbearing co-worker, trying to meet a tight deadline while dealing with unexpected technical challenges, and so on.   A persistent temptation is to simply go through the normal motions and hope things take care of themselves; we've all been there at some point in our career.

No matter what the situation, keep applying corrective inputs.   They may not have any perceptible immediate impact, but over time they improve the situation.   Will it guarantee a successful outcome?  No, of course not - but it will guarantee that the situation will not be as bad as it would have been had no corrective action been taken.

"Stay with it" is a common admonishment for student pilots.   How do you encourage yourself and others to "stay with it" and see a challenge through to completion?

Your Favorite Band Sucks

My friend Bob has a long standing policy of no politics allowed in his shop.   He has this policy because such discussions almost inevitably degrade into a scene of two one-way conversations occurring simultaneously, with each participant left feeling that the other is a close-minded idiot who simply can't be bothered with reason.  

I'm not sure I completely agree (Bob and I have had many good discussions, even though we are on polar opposites of the political wheel) but I do understand.    Numerous topics like politics, religion, music, and more tend to bring out the emotional side of our personalities, especially when we feel passionate about the topic.   There can be plenty of upsides to an honest and frank exchange of ideas, and such discussions can be very rewarding in the right context and appropriate place.    One place where such discussions are rarely, if ever, appropriate however, is the office.

Consider a manager or leader discussing his politics with his subordinates - those who don't agree with his political views will tend to be silent and avoid the potential confrontation that has no benefit for them.   Beyond the immediate discussion, such an occasion may have longer term ramifications which are detrimental to the team if such topics are frequently brought up.   

Another example might be the coworker who evangelizes his faith throughout the office during the workday.    If you happen to have the same belief system, you might not mind - if you have a different belief, on the other hand, you probably do.   Either way, you might be inclined to wonder why he is not doing his job.   This one is a two-fer - not only can it be a divisive topic, but it can also build resentment towards the individual who is preaching instead of doing his work.   (Full disclosure: if you want to know more about Jesus, ask me about it over lunch or after work).

A former coworker used to wear a shirt with "Your Favorite Band Sucks" emblazoned on the front.   I've always thought such was a great synopsis for discussions about divisive topics - while they might be fine outside the office, they do little to promote teamwork, trust, or inspire our coworkers to do great things.

The Value of Being Wrong

Success.  Winning.  Being Right.   These are things that are highly valued, sought after, and are generally pursued by most people, and rightly so.   However, I think that too often we overlook the inherent value of being wrong once in a while, and that we do so to our detriment.   Just as there is value in success, there is also value in failure - you just need to know where to look.

Knowledge:   The very first commercial software package I conjured up entirely on my own was called "Back In a Flash" and was, I thought at the time, very well done.   Only it didn't work very well - while it generally did a good job backing data up, it was less successful when it came time to restore said data.   It also didn't work with large systems, and was particularly slow.   It was a failure.  The next package I wrote was called "Back Again/2" and incorporated many lessons I had learned from the first time around.   It became the cornerstone of a company a friend and I founded in 1994 and ran successfully until I sold in 2000.      Without the initial failure and the lessons it taught me, I could not have been successful later on.

Practice:   One of the smallest parts on my experimental aircraft is on the tail and is known as the trim tab.   The trim tab is a thing of legend among builders of this particular type of airplane; the angles required for the various bends vex even the most dedicated builder.   I was no exception; I had to build it three times before I got it right.   However, I gained valuable experience in forming aluminum sheet metal, drilling out rivets, and more.      

Perspective:  In the midst of a seemingly important task, project, or other endeavor small problems may seem huge.   Any entrepreneur can attest to this - many problems can seem like catastrophes.     During my time at my first company,   there were many such "catastrophes" which turned out to be nothing more than a minor irritant.   In the midst of the issue, however,  it was next to impossible to recognize that.   The stress and heartburn that was repeatedly experienced (and meted out, too) was not necessary and at the time probably did more harm than good.     Without those problems, however, I would not have gained the perspective that some problems are more important than others, and other problems may in fact not be problems at all.

Humility:  This is perhaps the hardest thing to take away from failure, but it can also be among the most valuable.   Humility isn't about being meek or timid; rather, it is knowing ones own limitations.     I had the opportunity to join an internet startup a while back as a side gig.   I thought it would be exciting, and it was, but I learned the hard way that it is nigh impossible to juggle a full time job, a family, a homebuilt airplane project, and a startup commitment while remaining sane.   I didn't succeed in that endeavor, and I learned where my limits are.   There are folks who could do all that without breaking a sweat, and my hat is off to them - I cannot.

Although success is the ultimate goal, don't discard as useless the failures you encounter along the way.   They may prove to be nearly as valuable as your successes, and perhaps more so - if you're not making mistakes, you're probably not making anything.

One of my worst failures has been failing to learn everything that I could from failed attempts at various things.   How about you?

Expertise vs. Authority

In an otherwise entirely forgettable movie, "Battle: Los Angeles" features a subplot which juxtaposes a grizzled Marine sergeant and a green Lieutenant.   Not exactly original stuff, but rather a recurring element across many genres of films and theatre:  expertise vs. authority.   The same plot plays out in the business world as well, pitting subject matter experts against business managers.   Most of the time, the plot isn't nearly as interesting as those conjured up by Hollywood.   Every so often, however, an authority figure believes he or she is also an expert, which can lead to problems if not dealt with quickly and carefully.

Most often, this issue arises when a subject matter expert is promoted or moved into a management position.  Although the titular change occurs almost immediately, learned behaviors die hard and as a result the newly minted manager continues to try to be the expert.   While it may be possible to continue such a "dual citizenship" role for a short period of time, one of two things will eventually happen :

• The manager spends too much time being technical, resulting in poor management and/or leadership
• The manager spends too much time being managerial, resulting in a decaying technical expertise that becomes a drain on the larger group of experts and a poor reflection of his leadership skills.

The key is that the individual, as well as his charges, need to recognize the changing roles and work to accommodate the changing positions.    An expert that moves into management makes room for younger experts to grow and hone their skills, and a manager who recognizes and demonstrates that it's all about the team's success and not his own will have incredibly devoted followers.  

One of my favorite bloggers, Jeff Haden, writes :

"Whatever we are today is largely due to the words and actions of other people. Most of those words or actions were, at the time, small and seemingly inconsequential."

A newly minted manager (or an old salty one, for that matter) operating in this mindset has opportunities to positively influence his team  each and every day.   Looking back, I can think of several managers who had small comments, observations, and insights which at the time seemed small and perhaps even trivial but have had a large impact on me.    The insights they shared with me helped to clarify several aspects of my career and helped me to develop a focus on what it was I wanted to do (which, ultimately, isn't to move into traditional management by the way - I much prefer technical leadership).   I'm not sure a manager who proclaims himself to be the foremost expert would have the same impact.

Understanding the different roles that expertise and authority play within a team, either business or military, serves to grow both the authority figure as well as the technical experts.   Failure to do so generally leads to, well, failure.  

What role do you see yourself in today?   What about tomorrow?