It wasn’t that long ago when the answer to why a flight operation existed in a company was, “Because the boss wants it.” That’s not today’s reality.
“It hasn’t been that way for quite a while. As ‘baby boomer’ bosses retire, we’re seeing a younger level of executives overseeing the aviation department,” said Jim Lara, principal at Gray Stone Advisors. “Aviation is now reporting to leadership at the same level as other departments in an organization, so our leaders need to communicate in ways those new leaders are familiar with.”
But before we discuss how to best communicate with the new generation of reporting executives, let’s define the difference between a “manager” and a “leader.”
“Inventory gets managed, and people need to be led,” Lara said. “Leadership is a completely different mindset than you find at the head of a typical aviation department.”
“Leadership is defined by followership,” said Sheryl A. Barden, CEO of Aviation Personnel International (API). “We can say you’re a leader, and we can teach ‘leadership,’ but if you don’t have true followers, you’re not a leader, in my book.”
Identifying Future Bizav Leadership
While every leader is a manager, not every manager is cut out to be a leader.
“In our work with flight departments, we see some fantastic leaders, and we also see those who struggle somewhat in that area,” Barden said. “I think these missteps stem from our continued reliance on our ‘pilot-centric, seniority-based’ system for promotion.
“Sometimes a person is great at managing what needs to happen in their domain, but they’re not prepared to lead the whole department,” she said. “They don’t have the established ‘followership’ across the group, so they won’t thrive in their new position like they did in their last. It’s sad to see.”
Possible Internal Search Tactics
What might be some logical steps flight operations can take when looking for potential bizav leadership candidates? One easy option is to ask the senior members of your group which of them wants to lead. An excellent place to start is during the team’s annual performance evaluations.
Ask your team, “Why does the flight department exist?” Someone who thinks like a future leader will say something like, “To support the overall goals of the company,” or “To create more of our company’s only unrenewable resource – time – for our executives.”
Another possible step: observe and assess. Take a thoughtful and careful look at employee interactions and try to identify who the informal leaders are. Who do their teammates naturally gravitate toward? And don’t be offended if it’s not you. Sometimes, being the “formal leader” means you are excluded from “water cooler” conversations.
And it’s perfectly fine to start cultivating more than one candidate at a time.
“Flight departments need to nurture multiple candidates who can be considered for the next round of leadership,” Barden said. “Leaders grow over time. The right candidate today may not be what is needed in the future.
“In today’s environment, turnover is a continual problem,” she said. “You never know when your next leader may go off to another job, leaving you in a vulnerable situation.”
Earning a Seat at the Executive Table
While your next-gen leader may well have tons of experience in the flight operation, chances are they’re not fluent in “corporate speak.”
“Your next aviation leader may not have the advantages of a business degree, so they’re seen at a disadvantage,” Lara said. “The flight department leader has to speak the language in its company executives’ terms. You have to earn your seat at the executive table.”
Although the first obvious step is to rush out and sign up for an MBA program, Lara strongly suggests you forego that – unless it’s what you really want – and start by learning all you can about your host organization. What business are they in? How does aviation support it? What ‘language’ do your executives use, and what do their terms mean?
“If you want more formal education, I’d suggest an executive MBA program,” he said. “It’s a condensed version where you learn the basics of corporate finance, accounting and many of a company’s ‘task-oriented’ jobs. You’ll get a good grounding in critical, strategic thinking.”
BizAv Leadership Is About Who You Are
While being promoted to the flight department’s “leader” may seem like your dream job, Barden said it’s important to say, “Yes,” for the right reasons, and it’s OK to say, “No thank you.”
“A big mistake too many people make in their careers is thinking that if they pass up on a leadership opportunity, they are failing,” Barden said. “That’s not what you need to worry about. Taking a promotion just because people expect it doesn’t often end well. You have to passionately want to do it. Leadership is not anything you can really test or train for – it’s just who a person is.”