I watched a fascinating documentary at the weekend about life behind the scenes of the Red Arrows aerobatics team.
It provided a unique insight into the work of the strong team of 120 pilots, support and ground crew as they prepared to celebrate their 50th display season this year, which will be their busiest flying season in years.
It was filmed as they underwent 6 months of training building up to an assessment day, where it is decided if the team are up to the requisite standard to fly in the public displays. It is a high stakes day, where they are either cleared to fly or judged not to be ready.
The team had 9 pilots, 2 of which were new recruits, under training. They were being assessed as to whether they will be permitted to wear the coveted red flying suit at the end of the training. Each pilot has a designated engineer who maintains the plane they fly.
The new recruits were experienced elite pilots, the best of the best, who had flown missions in Afghanistan. They said that this was a more stressful experience than the dangerous missions they had been involved in previously. They faced the most gruelling six months of their lives. Each commented that all they pretty much think about from sunrise to sunset is the training. They would either fulfil a boyhood dream or face heartbreak, so there was lots of pressure.
Despite their ability and experience, they were shocked at the relentless nature of the training. They fly 3 times a day, 5 days a week. Each flight forensically analysed by the whole team of pilots (including video footage) in a briefing room afterwards to learn lessons and drive continuous improvement.
Just before the assessment day held in Cyprus, 5 possible recruits for the team for future years are flown in to join the team for a week. In addition to doing some flying tests, they undergo interviews with all the team (each existing team member gets to vote on who should be admitted to the team) and attend social events, which are closely monitored to see how they interact with others.
Lessons and Insights
I believe that there are many lessons and insights that all teams can learn and help them to deliver high performance levels and results. I have detailed some thoughts below:
1) Trust
Trust is critical when building a high performing team. It is the foundation and bedrock. You need to be able to say that you can count on your team-mates to be there for you. It is vital that you trust their abilities and appreciate the contribution that they make to the team results.
Trust is so vital in the Red Arrows given the dangerous nature of what they do – flying at 400 miles an hour sometimes just 6 feet apart!
2) Clear purpose and plan
It is important that everyone clearly understands the purpose of the team, what you are seeking to achieve. A detailed plan of how you will get there and the role that each member has to execute the plan is useful.
A back up and contingency plan that can be introduced swiftly if there is an unforeseen incident is also helpful and for everyone to have knowledge of what that is.
3) Focused competitive team players
You need people to work together to make the grade, deliver the desired results and encourage each other. Essentially, you want people who push themselves to perform at their best and want and encourage that in others.
The Red Arrows team manager said they look for competitive people but nice competitive not bad competitive.
They want people who have a will to be the best but are also team players who can fit in and maintain good levels of trust with their fellow pilots. They can’t be competing with each other in the air and need to be working together.
4) Constructive feedback and commitment to improvement
After all flights, all pilots participate in a detailed, forensic debrief which includes video footage to review what has just happened in the air. They employ a clever psychological trick in the briefing room to avoid conflict. They never refer to each other by name. Instead they use Red 1 through to Red 9.
Whilst having personal views and opinions, all the team must get on with each other. Conflict and tension is not something that they can accommodate and entertain in the Red Arrows.
5) Recruitment and selection
As a team leader it is important that you are very clear about the standards and behaviours that you expect from all team members. The importance of setting the tone and the right environment right from day can’t be overstated.The red arrows pilots are selected for professionalism, skills and teamwork.
Another excellent investment of time and energy is really thinking about how people will fit in and how the team will gel with each other. It is best to listen to and trust your instinct if you feel someone is not the right fit. This will avoid having to deal with a lot of problems in the long run.
6) Honest and open communication
They call a spade a spade in the briefing room. It is not personal but intended as constructive feedback and suggestions. The opinions are offered in the spirit that as a team they are looking to get the best outputs in the displays. Errors are pointed out and suggestions to correct them made.
7) Success and growth does not just happen
Practice and training is crucial to keep the team on the ball, sharp and to enable them to fulfil their potential. Even the best performers need to be committed to learning new things, practising and honing their skills. The more that the Red arrows train and practice, the better and safer they will be.
This week why not have a think about the team(s) that you are involved in. What could you do differently to develop your performance?
Quote for the week:
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” Helen Keller
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john Andrews
excellent work