Mandy Hickson on Being a Better Leader

Mandy Hickson knows a thing or two about leadership. As one of the first female pilots in the UK’s RAF, she has had to prove herself time and again. Hickson did so exceptionally, flying in the Tornado GR4, and patrolling no-fly zones over Iraq. In her three tours of duty, she was one of the only female pilots the entire time she served. During her time in the RAF she learned about leading with integrity, about overcoming challenges, and about how all of us have to first fail in order to succeed. She will be featured later this month at Chief Executive Magazine’s ongoing Masterclass series about Women in Leadership, so she recently sat down with them for an interview.

Hickson first discovered her love of flying at age 14, when the RAF still didn’t allow women to join. Despite this, Hickson had made up her mind. She finished school and enrolled at a university, all the while dreaming of a career that she wasn’t allowed into. Then, in the early 1990s, that finally changed. When she was 17 years old, she received a flight scholarship. After a successful career in the RAF she went on to volunteering with the cadets, a program to introduce flight programs to teens. It was there that she realized her ultimate calling; to become a business coach specializing in human performance factors. Hickson uses her history in high-pressure, high-performance situations and coaches leadership to minimize human error, minimize burnout, and minimize stress, all while maximizing communication, maximizing decision-making skills, and maximizing fulfillment. Which, coincidentally, also makes for a very safe flying environment.

Side note: If you want to learn more about Hickson and other women in leadership, check out Chief Executive Magazine’s Women in Leadership series. Their next event is coming up on September 27th (streaming live). Or check out her book, An Officer Not a Gentleman, the inspiring story of how her determination led to achieving a dream that almost never happened.

Avoiding Burnout While Growing as a Leader

It’s safe to say that one of the only traits common to all leaders is a lifelong love of learning and growth. No matter what myriad of differences separates them, everyone in leadership wants to learn more and be a better leader. One of the reasons why groups such as Vistage exist is that our members are so committed to this growth, both as individuals and as leaders. Unfortunately, another trait that some leaders have is enthusiasm that can lead to being spread too thin (and that’s why it’s so important to have a great coach!). Kellogg’s own Senior Fellow and coach Sanjay Khosla has published a fantastic and coach-approved article on how to strive for this growth without coming to the end of one’s proverbial rope.

According to Khosla, it’s as simple as strategic thinking and a quick, five-step process. First and foremost; know yourself. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses, ask for feedback from colleagues (and be willing to accept constructive criticism), and be ready to work on areas where growth is needed. Second, manage your energy. Sit down and examine the calendar from the past few months. If more time is being spent in meetings or managing tasks than is warranted, think strategically about how that time could be better spent. Could things be delegated? Could scheduled meetings actually be resolved over a few simple emails? Khosla calls this an “energy audit”, and it is vital in reclaiming time.

Third on this list; pick focus areas. Khosla recommends listing priorities, and interestingly he insists that the first priority of his coaching clients be non-work related. Family or a hobby should come first in order to maintain a work-life balance. Fourth, build a circle of influence. Think about areas that need strengthening and who might best help along the way. Stay in touch with these individuals and be willing to be that person as well. And lastly, choose how you show up. Khosla advises his coaching clients to examine how they present themselves and their information to others. Whether during a meeting or at a big event, he says to think about the information from the audience’s point of view, and how they may want to digest the topic. Keeping the audience engaged is vital to remaining passionate about the subject one wants to learn. If an audience is bored to tears, the presenter may not be inspired to return to that subject, even though it may be an important one. Read the full article here for Khosla’s tips on continued growth while not burning out.

Healthy Co-Founder Relationships

Running a business with someone else can be a challenge, no doubt about it. The relationship between co-founders is likely the most intimate business relationship two people can have, and just like any other relationship, it can deteriorate without proper upkeep. Still, it’s a bit shocking to learn that 65% of startups fail due to co-founder conflicts (according to Noam Wasserman, author of The Founders Dilemma). That seems like a high percentage, considering a good amount of those conflicts could be solved or avoided altogether with proper coaching and/or training.

Executive coach Alisa Cohn has a lot of experience mediating and coaching co-founders through conflicts so their businesses may succeed. In her new article from Harvard Business Review, Ms. Cohn lays out 5 simple steps co-founders can take to ensure a smoother relationship. Not all these suggestions are going to be easy or comfortable, but they will absolutely be worth it. At the end of the day, with some careful planning and the right coaching, the co-founder relationship can be just as successful as the company each loves.