Culture: Why It Matters

We have all been there. Floating, unsure of the future, feeling disconnected and lacking guidance or care. You feel stuck and there is no end in sight. Stuck is the worst place to be professionally and personally.

How do you avoid the “stuck” void that forms in your team and your company’s culture? For that matter why does culture matter and how does it affect results? Stick with me here and over the next few days it will all make sense, and the further we dig the more obvious the solutions will seem to be, but often they are overlooked.

Pointing back to history, one of the most dangerous roles in WW2 was that of a bomber crew over Europe. Books like Catch 22 from Joseph Heller—fictional as it may be—point to the insanity that seemed to be flying in a large aluminum aircraft over cities you can’t see as the enemy took target practice at you and the formations you flew in.

True accounts of the daring, seemingly endless raids on Germany are jotted down in Stephen Ambrose’s The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24’s Over Germany. He covers a few different airmen but focuses mainly on George McGovern, former United States Senator and pilot in the 455^th Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force.

In the book Ambrose covers the experience of the air war perfectly. He paints pictures as well as Bob Ross on PBS Saturday’s. One of the focuses of this book and many others about military history show enormous trust, comradery, and reliance on one another to survive day to day and through the war.

On one mission, McGovern felt the right wheel of the landing gear blowout as they hit the air. He circled the airfield with options. He could jettison the aircraft safely after the crew bailed out or he could continue his mission and return with an emergency landing plan after the bombing run.

He chose the latter, and then offered to allow his crew to jump before the mission if they chose. All stayed aboard.

The trust at that point was enormous. First, their plane knowingly had a flaw, and they were headed to war. Second and more evidently, emergency landings on two wheels was not an optimal scenario upon return.

Despite this seemingly gloomy future for the crew, they went on to successfully bomb their target for this mission, an oil refinery in Odertal, Germany. On return they were again offered to bailout, but all declined, riding the two wheeled massive B-24 to the runway.

Miraculously McGovern is quoted by Ambrose as saying “We came down and I made the best landing I’d ever made in my life. I never made a landing like that before or since.” Ambrose goes further to quote McGovern as saying “That particular incident elevated my status for good in that group” in reference to the officer’s club and fellow fliers in the bomber force stationed together in Italy.

On a later mission his B-24 Liberator was decimated by flak. McGovern had to land the plane on a small island in the Adriatic Sea called the isle of Vis. It was half the runway needed to land as it was built for fighters, but it was the only option. Again, the crew was advised they could bailout of the plane—again, none did.

When McGovern brought the plane to a stop Ambrose says of the moment that “The men piled out of the plane. Half of them threw themselves on the ground and kissed it. That was the only time McGovern ever saw them do that. McGovern and (Bill) Rounds (his co-pilot) hugged each other.” McGovern received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this landing.

Through missions and extremely high stress an amazing air crew was built. McGovern and his crew had become incredibly close as most in combat do and had ultimate trust that each man was holding up their duty on missions. McGovern is one of the few that lasted the full 35 mission tour over Europe in 1944-45.

The trust that was shown time again came from leadership. In Ambrose’s piece on the bomber group, he displays the development of the leadership in McGovern and how the leadership overall was top-notch in the American military during the war and beyond.

Some of the best leaders in our country’s history are prior military and held leadership roles inside it. One of the toughest things to do is have another human willing to follow you to Hell. Men and women that figure out that spark become CEO’s, lead teams to championships and win wars.

While you and your team may not be deploying to a war zone next week, you must utilize the same principles to gain and maintain the trust that is on display often in military history. It is an easy model to point to because it is the highest point of stress with minimal immediate return to those that are involved—yet they fight on.

Do your people, your team, trust you? Do they feel supported and uplifted daily? Will they charge Hell with water pistols with you? Will you for them?

You have to build teams around you with a clear mission focus and understanding of direction that when the chance to bailout is given, they stay in the plane and know you will guide it safely to a stop even if it's just on two wheels.

If not, you and your business will not prevail, it will fail. In-fighting, gossip, lack of ownership and many other signs will begin to set in.

I see three very basic points that once we investigate a bit in the coming days will show how the climb from mediocrity to high performer is easier than it seems. How finding the right cheeks for the right seats and setting expectations with follow through is vitally important and basic for any business but often overlooked.

Morale matters, your human capital matters.

The three focus points we will hit are below. I look forward to diving deeper and helping remove the feeling of “stuck” from your teams if it exists, and help you bridge the gap and circumvent the void of leadership and management to the field.

Communication and Consultation

Clear Focus with Marked Goals

“Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork”