In any industry, including business aviation, career setbacks are virtually unavoidable. The question isn’t whether you’ll fail in your career: You will. The most important question is how you’ll respond.
“We’re defined by how we handle adversity,” said Lyndse Costabile, executive liaison for NBAA’s Leadership Council, which supports a variety of initiatives that help business aviation professionals overcome challenges – and creator of From Sacrifice to Soaring, a program that helps people build the resilience and determination needed to move from a place of difficulty or trauma to one of triumph and elevation.
“You must embrace setbacks to learn from them. Honesty, accountability, and a positive mindset can turn adversity into opportunity,” Costabile said.
Two industry pros shared their personal stories that demonstrate examples of this mindset, detailing how they turned disappointment into stepping stones toward career success.
Sudden Job Loss Becomes a Career-Building Opportunity
In mid-2024, 11-year business aviation industry veteran Ian Lumpp lost his sales job at an aviation software provider. While getting laid off was unexpected and unpleasant, Lumpp took it as an opportunity to reevaluate his career path.
“I did a self-audit, taking time to really think about my career. I realized that making sales calls wasn’t what I wanted to be doing, that it would be a mistake to stay in sales,” said Lumpp. “Instead, I wanted to get back to things I’m passionate about, like working in leadership and being more connected to what’s happening across the company.”
Lumpp was proactive in reaching out to others in the industry about career opportunities. When a contact tagged him in a help wanted LinkedIn post by the CEO of an aviation real estate development, marketing and consulting company, Lumpp connected with the CEO. While the CEO was looking for a different skill set in his LinkedIn post, after a half-hour phone call he decided to create a role combining Lumpp’s skills and passions. And with that, Lumpp became manager of sales and marketing at Business Aviation Group, the position he holds today.
“Now I do brand development for my company and our clients,” Lumpp said. “I wear a bunch of different hats, and work with people across the company, and I really like it.”
Flight School Setback Leads to Dream Career Path
In 2017, Erick Lanier was finishing flight school in Florida, looking forward to a career as a pilot. But during an FAA checkride, he made a critical miscalculation, leaving him without a degree – and suddenly, he was unable to continue along his dream career path.
The next few years were challenging, professionally. Lanier was forced to take jobs in other industries, but he never gave up on the dream of working in aviation.
“Failing the checkride crushed me,” he said. “But I knew that I had a ton of knowledge about aviation. And I realized that while I couldn’t change what had happened, I could still find a way to contribute to the industry.”
In 2022, Lanier’s persistence paid off, and he landed a job booking flights with Volato, a business aviation operator and software provider. A year later, after proving his value to the company, Lanier was promoted to a client relationship-management position. Today, he is customer service account manager at flyExclusive, the operator with which Volato merged in 2024.
He was awarded NBAA’s 2024 Cheri Rudd Memorial Scholarship for business aviation professionals pursuing advanced customer service training. And he loves his work.
“I’ve learned that being proactive in showing people my skills can really make things happen,” Lanier said. “It’s funny, people always ask me if I still want to fly. I tell them I’m not giving up on that dream, but this career is really rewarding, and I plan to ride it as far as it’ll take me.”
Skills and Habits for Turning Setbacks Into Success
Through their challenging experiences, Lumpp and Lanier learned a few skills and habits that helped them transform their career setbacks into career growth.
- Be proactive and unafraid of failure. “Pushing the envelope is what makes big things happen,” said Lumpp. “Don’t be afraid of failure or mistakes.”
- Practice self-reflection. Honest reflection is key to learning from setbacks and moving forward in a positive direction. Self-reflection is what helped Lumpp understand he needed to make a career change – and what gave Lanier the persistence to finally break into aviation.
- Reach out to others. This includes mentors, industry organizations (like NBAA’s Young Professionals in Business Aviation (YoPro) Council), and their professional network. It’s important for business aviation professionals to realize that whatever challenges they face, they’re not alone.
- Practice resilience. Both Lumpp and Lanier avoid getting lost in the shame that can accompany failure. In the process, they sidestep the paralysis that shame can cause. “I try not to dwell on mistakes or failure,” said Lanier. “I give myself 24 hours to have feelings, then take the next 24 hours to analyze what went wrong. Then I move forward, with lessons learned.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.