Everybody leads, everybody follows
Kyle Skalisky, who today is an aerospace executive, and leadership strategist, spent 23 years in the US Air Force, much of it flying the F-15. He then took those lessons into industry.
As Kyle explains on the show, his core point is simple: fighter pilot training isn’t about obedience. It’s about learning to think, solve problems and keep learning.
When he moved into business, he was surprised how rarely those habits existed.
Leadership is about people
Kyle separates leading from managing. Management is about processes and systems. Leadership is about people. In a flight, anyone might need to lead at any moment, and everyone must be ready to follow. You simply need to know when it’s your turn.
The three Cs
When building a team, Kyle looks for character, competence and commitment. The first two you recruit for. The third is the leader’s job to create.
The power of the debrief
A 90-minute training sortie could be followed by a three or four hour debrief, with everyone speaking as an equal. In industry, Kyle noticed the same “lessons learned” coming up meeting after meeting. Spotting a problem isn’t the same as learning from it. The action is what counts.
Listen first
With his first team of fifty, Kyle sat down with every person and asked how their work contributed to the mission. Many couldn’t say. So he gave the team its own clear mission and shared values of trust, respect and accountability. Trust meant never letting a wingman down, and never letting a wingman fail.
By year eight, the team no longer needed him. For Kyle, that is the real legacy of a leader.
The takeaway from Episode 243
Listen before you change anything. Give people a mission they understand. Build a team where nobody is allowed to fail. And debrief honestly, then act on what you learn. Leadership isn’t about being the best in the room. It’s about creating the conditions for others to succeed.
Learn more about Kyle’s best-selling book, A Sky Less Traveled on his website.
