Hold on Loosely
THWUMP! We landed so hard, I could almost hear my flight instructor’s teeth rattle in his head.
It was my sixth time that morning trying to land our Cessna 152, and I had just blown it again. Angrily, I brought the plane to a stop on the tarmac and sat there shoulder to shoulder with Richard Gamble, my flight instructor.
“Phillip,” Richard said in a tone far too patient for a man who I’d nearly concussed, “We are going to do the pattern again, but this time, when you make that final turn, I only want you to do one thing. You know all of the technical stuff, so forget about that. Here is what you are going to do: I want you to open your hands flat. You are not allowed to grab the yoke with your fists; you can only guide it with the tips of your fingers.”
I looked at Richard with skepticism. “What do you mean? Like the whole final approach including the flare?”
“Yes, you are not allowed to grab the yoke. You can’t hold it. You can only use your fingertips.”
I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage landing the plane with only my fingers, but Richard insisted, so we took off again. So there we are on the final approach. The plane is racing towards the ground, winds are rattling the plane, rocking it to and fro, and I feel so out of control. Everything within me wants to grab that yoke and force the plane into a safe landing, but patiently I keep guiding the plane with my open hands, feeling every bump and twist on the way down until finally my wheels meet the asphalt with one of my best landings ever—perfect butter.
And I just sat there stunned. “Rich, what just happened?”
“Phillip, here’s the thing. You were grabbing that thing so tight that you couldn’t feel it. You were overcompensating because you couldn’t feel the plane. So you were making huge motions, trying to muscle it in, when what you really needed was to be soft and subtle, letting the plane do its thing.”
I can't tell you how many times I've rehearsed that conversation with myself over the years. To me, it has become a perfect metaphor for leadership, and beyond that, life in general. It’s easy when things feel out of control to want to grab that yoke as hard as you possibly can to force your plane to land. But I’m guessing you’re going to cause some sore necks when you land everything with a TWHACK!
Healthy leadership is finding a way to keep your fingers on the yoke, knowing the pulse of the business, feeling the turbulence but gently guiding it towards the runway.
Everything within you might be screaming to grab the controls and try to "muscle it in" to save the plane from crashing—but doing so will almost always cause you to overcompensate. My advice: Relax your grip, trust your team, feel the business—and make the subtle adjustments needed for a smooth landing for all.