Leadership Up in the Air- workshop with a pilot cohort 17

Today our workshop was centered on being a leader under different and often difficult conditions. After beginning “oy’s and joy’s”, we briefly reviewed the four Diller Pillars, eventually talking about the importance of leadership abilities in the program and in life. We then joined together in a circle of chairs and were asked to each pick a photo from off the floor that we connected with. These photographs were all taken of the sky from a plane or of a plane itself.

           

 This activity soon segued into meeting our guest speaker of the day, Shachar! Shachar is first officer pilot and talked to us about his decision to pursue flying as a career and his love of flying growing up in Israel. Shachar told us about the importance of maintaining strong authority on flights to make sure that his passengers felt safe and comfortable even in tricky situations. Shachar then talked about being able to adapt to different situations as a leader and how to think quickly and act effectively based on the particular scenario of the moment.

           

 Shachar broke us up into five groups of four and gave us all different flight positions: pilot, two first officers, and a flight attendant. He then gave each group a scenario and asked us to find a solution, needed materials and resources, and individual jobs for each member of the team. My group for example, was on a flight to Tokyo but was forced to make an emergency landing in Kazakhstan. We then had to work together to come up with a way to find transportation, accommodations, and a new flight plan for our passengers in a foreign nation without the aid of our airline’s credit card. Ultimately we decided to first, find a translator who could help us negotiate a hotel stay for one night for the flight’s passengers as well as asking for the passenger’s financial assistance in paying for the stopover, which they would be compensated once they arrived in Tokyo. At the end of the activity, every group had managed to find feasible solutions to all of their flight emergencies and understood the importance of maintaining order to ensure a happy group of passengers.

            Shachar wrapped up the activity by telling us that all of these scenarios had in fact, happened to him on various flights in the past.As a pilot, Shachar had to consider all the the fact and share only necessary information to allow the passengers a safe flight.  For example if an engine blows out but the flight can still land safely, there is no point in worrying the passengers for no reason. after a short discussion we were able to ask questions and send our Pilot off. 

            

Thanks Shachar! Come back soon!

- Sophia Weiss Cohort 17