Stand By
A simple request, a way to reset. And Astronaut Jones
I’ve been talking with folks this summer about how they make decisions under pressure. These convos have been with either early-career “risers” (folks who are getting ready for a level leap, like to Director or manager) or with later-career, lane changers (like buying a business or starting a career in a new field).
My role has been as a “safe” interlocutor, not as a “coach” or a professional advisor, so I feel comfortable talking about the many times I didn’t do great under pressure.1 Its easy - now - to look back and see how I underperformed: Took too long, wasn’t clear in my communication, didn’t focus on the right inputs, listened to the loud voices instead of the wise ones, cared too much about my own ego, etc. That’s another post.
But, I had a bolt of insight in July. I was talking with a buddy who is a former Navy pilot and now flies commercial jets. He also does a lot of teaching and mentoring of new pilots. We were talking about this topic, how to decide and act when under extreme pressure. And, we talked lot about how to gain situational awareness when everything is moving fast.
The first step for pilots: Just say “stand by.”
It’s kind of obvious in hindsight. Pilots can tell others and Air Traffic Controllers to, well, hang tight for a minute. Then, the pilot can do their thing: assess the situation, make a plan, identify the next action steps, then communicate in a clear, direct way.
Business leaders can do this too, but often we don’t, because we’re feeling the pressure to say something, anything.
When the activity level goes up, when the stress overheats the circuits, you might literally need a minute. Or, it might be days or weeks. Either way, just communicate that you need a second. Tell everyone to stand by.
It’s the first step to maintaining or regaining Situational Awareness while communicating that you know a decision and action and communication is expected.
It’s your way of communicating that you are working through the issues, going through the mental checklist, assessing the inputs, formulating the plan. Then, you can get clear on the appropriate steps and, very simply and directly, communicate what’s going to happen next.
It’s such a basic thing, but combating complexity with simplicity is an under-taught method.
Side note: This conversation sent me down the rabbit hole of situational awareness and how fighter pilots and astronauts do what they do. Here’s a good overview to get you started. Then, here’s a classic: Boyd’s OODA Loop. It’s a tool for maximizing human performance on the edges of possibility. (Or, in my case, the edges of how far one motivated man could push Powerpoint)
And, then, of course not all Astronauts make great choices or have a clear framework for doing it. Here’s an episode of the still-funny, but now-sorta-problematic SNL sketch I’ve always loved (with the best theme song ever):
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Surprisingly, in hindsight, the times where I made good/correct decisions under pressure felt natural and “flowy”. I don’t know about the causal/correlation thing, but I suspect some of those decisions were “good” because I didn’t agonize over them.