The Definition of a Wingman

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The first thing that you learn when you're flying high performance aircraft so supersonic capable or high speed high g turning is how to fly close to your flight lead. Back in the day only men were were fighter pilots and now it's inclusive but we still have the term "wingman" I'm not leaving my wingman because he made the mistake earlier in the movie because they both got killed right? You've got to be confident that by the time your follower gets to a position where they're going to impact your organization you're supremely and sublimely confident their ability to do it one way or another.

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Mark Fogel is a former US Air Force fighter pilot and current squadron commander in the Ohio Air National Guard. He’s A graduate of the US Air Force Academy and the Harvard Kennedy School, he is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Dayton, and his TEDx Talk called The Culture of a Fighter Squadron is one of the best I’ve seen.

Notes:

American Fighter Sqaudrons are the most effective teams on the planet. Cockiness is unacceptable. Humility is a critical quality and skill to be part of the team.
- The subculture is you check your rank at the door. When you lead a mission, you’re in charge of the debrief. I love building a culture where feedback is regularly given both ways. And the trust created amongst the team to be able to do this with psychological safety.
The real training and learning take place in the debrief…Spending hours pouring over video, computer graphic reenactments, radio calls, everything… To diagnose exactly what went right and what didn’t and why. The debriefs can last multiple days to describe 10 minutes of action.
- The person who leads the debrief is the flight leader. That person is not necessarily the most experienced member of the team. Fighter squadrons share the leadership and followership duties constantly. You might have a situation where it’s a 24-year-old lieutenant telling a 2-star General in front of the entire room, “You screwed up and this is why we failed the mission because of it.” This creates a mixture of perfectionism and humility.
Building a culture takes time. Trust is built from character and competence.
- How do you reward and incentivize behavior?
- You're modeling what you want others to do.