Leadership skills – fascinating case study from Israel

From the top business schools to the extremes of the internet, we are flooded with material about what makes a good leader.

Be open. Listen. Appreciate those around you. Develop an ability to make decisions under stress. Hope you have the right biological make up? And who knows what else.

And every journalist loves it when a leading personality refers to ” a crisis of leadership“. I typed the phrase into google, and the first page brought responses from Eire, the USA, Nepal and Japan. I mean, would we know what a good leader is even if they were to walk into the room right now?

Pilots in the Israeli air force are considered a very elite sort of group; physically strong, educationally bright, with an ability to perform well under adverse conditions. They are never photographed face-on for security reasons. So, they don’t need any extra leadership skills, do they?

So, it came as a surprise to read in the Hebrew press of a new approach to training for the “lead” plane or helicopter in a squadron. The idea is to allow the pilot to act as the chief-of-the -airforce. It is a concept by a multipurpose team, consisting of former pilots, psychologists, sociologists and others.

Is that an anathema? Not necessarily. What happens if  pilot is able to use all, but all , the resources at his disposal? That means exploiting full knowledge of himself, of his plane, of his surroundings, and even the control tower.

A helicopter pilot in the article described a battle scene from Lebanon, when a discussion broke out whether or not to carry out a rescue mission. Meanwhile on the ground, the lives of soldiers were at risk, but there was no easy flight path in or out. The pilot took responsibility for the situation, assessing all known factors. (The mission was a success).

Not everyone can do that in every situation. However, there is a clear lesson from this study.

Empowering your colleagues (senior and junior) to learn and to initiate, through clear established lines of guidance, can lead to effective results for organisations.