No Rank in the Cockpit (and the other things we do)

The first time I met a United States Navy Captain, I was terrified, not to mention already feeling airsick in the sweaty Pensacola morning sun. Unfortunately, he was to be my instructor for our training flight that day. Clearly, this man had been in uniform longer than I’d been alive. He had all the answers. He knew this airplane inside and out. Every pressure in every hose, every intake manifold temperature, every airspeed limit seared into his mind from years of flying.

‍

“Why don’t you run me through the checklist, Ensign White? I haven’t been in the plane in a few weeks; you have the lead.”

‍

“Uh…sir?”

‍

“You’ve been flying every day this week; I’m sure I’ll miss something; you have it.”

‍

I began to work through the checklist. Seat Safety Pin, installed and clear. Ejection handle, checked. ISS mode selector, solo, and on and on as I got the Texan II up and running for our flight.

‍

The flight proceeded nominally, and we conducted some touch-and-goes around the panhandle of Florida and proceeded back to base. Despite not being my regular instructor and despite my initial fear of working with the CAPT, he put into action one of the most critical safety protocols in naval aviation.

‍

There is no rank in the cockpit. period.

‍

What does this mean?

·       Once you step into the aircraft, you have to be a team, not a superior and a subordinate.

·       Often, the junior person has been in the books much more recently; they probably have fresher information.

·       Fear of disappointing the senior person and failure to speak up is a very real way to die.

·       The senior person has fantastic experience; the junior person knows the book approach. The sweet spot is in the middle.

‍

It’s easy to see how this would translate to building any sort of effective team, right? When we started Multitude Insights, a professor at MIT asked me what my “leadership philosophy” for the company would be. Coming from the military, I’d seen every new squadron commander publish a volume about leadership that nobody ever read. I thought I’d left the world of “command philosophies behind.” I recoiled against bringing that bureaucratic exercise into our new, agile organization.

‍

Still, a few lessons from the Navy seemed appropriate, particularly the one from that hot day in Pensacola with a senior leader with a lion’s share of humility. So, I put together this list for success at Multitude. The list is simple by design; we’re too busy to have an hour-long presentation. You may not think this list is profound; that’s okay. You might disagree with how I’ve phrased things; that is also okay. Still, I believe this list has helped us be successful thus far and will continue to help us build a high-functioning, expert team.

‍

1.    There is no rank in the cockpit.
Celebrate mistakes widely, and never make the same mistake twice. Be a learning organization.

2.    Take out the trash, have a custodial mindset.
Own your mistakes and fix problems you created. No task is too small. Pitching in is expected, not exceptional.

3.    Become the expert at something.
Be the SME in at least one thing at the company. We support this with internal and external growth opportunities.

4.    Bring your whole self to work. (This one isn’t from the Navy, as you can tell)
Real life happens. Communicate about it and its effect on your work; help me help you.

‍

To this day, every new hire sees a five-slide presentation called The Five Things We Do. It follows these principles so every new employee understands our values at Multitude.

‍