How to Cultivate Leadership Skills Early in Your Business Aviation Career

In the fast-paced, ever-evolving world of business aviation, tomorrow’s leaders must blend book smarts with team-building skills and self-awareness to meet the challenges of a highly service-focused industry.

“Continuous improvement is essential for anyone considering a leadership role in their future business aviation career,” said Aasiya Shaikh, president and CEO at global aviation staffing and crew leasing firm Flight Crew International. “This starts with a solid education, but leadership isn’t something that you can just read about. It’s an evolving skill that must be constantly honed with experience.”

Shaikh said there are many elements to leadership. “Each person will develop their own style and approach, but a common trait is having the unwavering persistence to get back up when something goes wrong,” she said. “No one gets everything right all the time, but great leaders learn from trial and error.”
Shaikh emphasized that having humility is essential, along with taking care of your team. “Take the heat for the falls and celebrate the team for the wins. It can be hard to do, but that’s where true leadership lies,” said Shaikh.

Surround Yourself With Role Models

One of the best ways to learn about leadership is to seek guidance from the industry leaders we have now, said Eliane Cotran, vice president – commercial at aircraft leasing company Azorra. “Throughout my career, I have sought out the role models I aspired to be, and it has been one of the most educational and beneficial things I have done,” Cotran said. “And this isn’t something that ends. Today, I still seek to surround myself with professional and personal role models who continue to inspire me.”

This may mean stepping out of your comfort zone, but that itself is a great experience for someone looking to become a leader, she added.

“When you meet someone who inspires you, approach them, engage with them. Invariably, they will be excited to talk with you. Business aviation is a small, tight-knit industry, and one of the many things I love about it is our sense of community, where we all help each other for the betterment of business aviation,” said Cotran. “Be prepared. Know your fallbacks and where you need to grow, and focus on filling those gaps.”

Engage With Mentors; Develop Emotional Intelligence

But where can people meet these role models? A good first step is NBAA’s Mentoring Network, a free annual program where aviation professionals can interact in an informal setting. Another place is association events, especially the annual NBAA Leadership Conference, which attracts many of the industry’s top professionals.

Also valuable are events by NBAA’s Young Professionals in Aviation (YoPro), such as its Washington, DC Fly-In, said business aviation consultant and association executive Maddie DuBray. The fly-ins allow the next generation of aviation leaders to network with peers from across the country.

For DuBray, emotional intelligence is essential for leadership. “Emotional intelligence helps a leader better understand the different personalities of their team members, their clients and their own bosses and create solutions that work best for each of them,” DuBray said. “An emotionally intelligent leader understands that each response they make must be tailored to the situation or individual involved in a way that is self-aware and empathetic. This is an important skill for successful leadership and is critical to building a strong, cohesive team.”

Focus on Listening and Learning

Successful leaders look to their team members as colleagues and experts, said Clay Lacy Aircraft Manager Jordan Scales. “Great leaders understand that they don’t know everything and that the ability to listen, learn and direct is more powerful than ordering things to be done,” he said.

This interaction goes both ways, too, with successful leaders teaching their team members how to become leaders themselves, Scales said. “Leaders must have an altruistic mindset when it comes to team building. They should share their knowledge just as much as they lead and each team should be able to survive and continue functioning should that leader move on.”

These demands may seem daunting to a young professional who is just starting a career, but at its core, leadership is about forging strong social bonds, said Flight Crew International’s Shaikh.

“Start with the basics. Be kind to others, do good to others – starting with your team and your clients – and act with integrity and honesty.” Shaikh said those who approach leadership with these fundamentals, will gain followers, and that’s what defines leadership.

“Leadership isn’t about influencing others to act because you’re in a position of power,” said Shaikh. “Leadership is about inspiring people to follow you because they believe in the shared vision you’ve created, they trust in your ability to get them there and they respect you.”