A few days ago the online magazine Politico published “What Would Sully Do?” an article outlining the lessons learned from the crash of US Air flight 1549.
Certainly the challenges we face as managers cannot be easily compared with a potentially tragic plane crash, but there are lessons we can learn and apply in our management as we address the uncertain economic times. Here is a summary of the article (a link to the original is at the end of this blog):
1. You can’t lead from the fetal position. Don’t panic. He didn’t let his initial fear keep him from acting calmly and effectively.
2. Leaders have to be allowed to lead. There’s only one pilot at a time… the instant his engines cut out over New York City, Sullenberger turned to his co-pilot and said “my aircraft,” taking control of the airplane. No arguments about who was in charge, or whose theory was better.
3. Weigh the options, and then move on. Improvise, Improvise, Improvise. Sully cranked through a list of options with his team and quickly weighed the advice and made a unilateral decision.
4. Some people are just better qualified than others. Experience matters. As it happens, Sully had a unique set of skills and experience he could draw upon. Use the skills you have and draw on whatever expertise you can to make the decision.
5. Everyone else is along for the ride. Don’t worry about public opinion – success makes for great numbers; hesitation and excessive deliberation can mean disaster. And sometimes it’s better to make a bad decision than none at all.
When things require immediate and decisive action, a good leader does so, but not in a dictatorial sense…that can be messy, indecisive, and combative.
What we also learned is that the Sully model can only be deemed a success after the fact. Until it’s over everyone is operating on faith. A sudden gust of wind, a tip of the wing, could have led to a disaster. But it didn’t.
"You can't lead from the fetal position."
--- Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, US Air Pilot