Our Son is now licensed to be a Commercial Airline pilot (I am so very proud of Tyler and his efforts!). He has lots of hours and accreditations to add before he is flying the friendly skies- but HOW EXCITING to be a Pilot right? I wonder if we can use a little playful imagination and pretend that WE are pilots? What would that look like in our companies?
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Flight Preparation: In order to be prepared to fly- we have to add to our knowledge tool belt. Just like Tyler has been attending flight school, we need to make sure we are familiar with the elements that make up our working environment! Knowing our products, tools and team members, helps us to get prepared and be productive.
- Dressed for Flight: You can always tell who the pilots are when you are walking towards your plane! They have the captain hats on, their suits are usually pressed and their shoes shine; they are off to do something important! How do you look on your way to work? They say that dressing for success has a real impact on the way we perform in the workplace. Consider 'turning it up' in the wardrobe department- you may not wear a captain's hat all day but you can affect the way you feel by the way you dress for your daily work.
- PreFlight Check: This is such an important part of a flight and you would NEVER want your passengers to know if you skipped a step or two- NO THANK YOU! What does your PreFlight checklist look like at work? At TMC, it might look like a quick check the night before so you know what situations might need immediate attention in the morning. A printed out task list so you know what your tasks look like before you begin. A plan of action for the day, so you can plan the day instead of having your activities run the schedule. A back up plan and use of your team- for when things do not go according to your grand plan. These actions, or similar ones for your job, will help you prep your workday, much like a pilot preps the plane before takeoff!
- Course Corrections: An airplane that begins its journey does not stay on course the entire time it is in the air! In fact, it is typically OFF COURSE more often than it is on! However, the Pilot stays plugged in and continues to make tiny course corrections so you end up getting to where you were going in the first place! Setting some CHECK IN times throughout your day, will help you make any needed course corrections to your work schedule so you do not end up landing in Hartford when you were planning on landing in Honolulu!
- Celebrating Success: I LOVE it when a pilot gets on the speaker and welcomes his passengers to the destination city. It is a celebration of sorts- WE MADE IT- Safe & Sound! Having a successful work experience requires that same process- celebrating your successes- DAILY is best. Review the day and what went right. Where did you shine? What successes did you play a part in? Oh sure- there will be room for improvement but be sure to take the time to celebrate your successes- it sure makes the next workday (or that next flight) something to look forward to.
Every position in every company has the ability to be a HIGH FLYING experience! As Zig Ziglar said: "We are all born to win, but in order to be the winner we were born to be, we have to plan to win, prepare to win and then and only then can we expect to win." Choose to be the member of your team who leads the charge towards a flight worthy experience in your office today!
