Gaining the Command Mindset
how the pandemic is actually preparing me for the left seat of an airliner
Starting of the year, everyone was busy with all their individual lives, everybody was hustling for their dreams, I was no different. As a first officer in a rapidly growing airline, I had my sight set on one thing and it was not the jet; I had always wanted to take command, be a captain, and I aimed to get there within the year as I was then nearing the time required for the upgrade. In a highly dynamic environment, I believed then that I was ready to take the next step and move to the commander’s seat. Or was I?
Come March 2020 and enter the longest Quarantine the world has ever seen. To this date, my country still has some sort of quarantine in place for different places. Along with it came a lot of travel restrictions which then trickled down to less commercial flights which unfortunately led to company downsizing. It was all inevitable with the global crisis at hand, one thing for sure, I was not gonna achieve my goal of command this year. Or did I?
With lots of time on the ground and past months now being memories, I look back on the rest of the year not flying and how I am being prepared for command, when the right time comes. I realized that being a Captain is not just about the experience, not just about the skill, it has a whole lot to do with one thing: the Attitude. I think I am still learning a lot more right now, but here are some things I have learned about being a captain:
Humility
When things are good in aviation, everything is awesome. The flights are abundant, there is lots of progress and yes, the pay is good. But one day someone pulled the plug. Now what? This pandemic taught me that regardless of command or not everything that we have worked for can be swept away from our feet. It was difficult for me at first, as I have worked to get where I’m at right now for the last 10 years. I worked on it for 10 years, and now only to realize there is more work to be done. It humbles you. It showed me that everything can be temporary and we just have to accept it and adapt.
Faith
Countless times at the dinner table I and my wife would check how much we still have on our savings. It’s difficult to look at the numbers when all you see is the money going out and you know you are not seeing money going in. The mental load of providing for a family of 4 when there is no income can be daunting, to say the least. It gets to you. I remember me and my wife computing every month how much we have saved and how much longer until we run dry (and it was not a whole lot Of time). It was an uncomfortable topic, but the times taught me to behave composure in front of my wife and kids that things will be alright when I am honestly shaking in fear deep inside. My fear can be seen and I will not allow them to see that. When the numbers are done, and the prayers have been said, there is pretty much nothing else to do but keep your faith. Faith that everything will be okay like you told everyone, faith that things will get better. Funny how they described faith: “Faith is believing something that has not happened yet” and that’s exactly what is happening.
Funny how they described faith: “Faith is believing something that has not happened yet” and that’s exactly what is happening.
Stewardship
Having spent more time at home than in an aircraft, the home became my aircraft, and I took care of her more than I ever did. I took this season to run the house more and ease the burden of household chores from my wife. At first, humility was in play because, to be honest, I disliked house chores but then I thought “how am I to be trusted a million-dollar aircraft if I can’t take care of my own home?” Then the change happened. My mind was set free and the idea of stewardship became more apparent. To date, I have procedures in my head and routines have been set in place in the house, not only by me but also for my wife and 2 kids.
Communication
In aviation, we have and will always value crew resource management (CRM). But how are you to practice CRM when you are not in the aircraft? Well, It turns out I had my crew from the start, I was just not looking at them that way, my wife and kids! The past months saw me and my wife developing from where we were, a bunch of grown-ups mostly not seeing eye-to-eye, to actual adults who talk about differences and agree on a solution. I am sold to the idea that if I can deal with communicating better with my spouse, I can deal with communicating with any pilot I work with (married people will get what I mean). Communication has been a big thing at home now where even the kids are involved in the discussion and as parents, we have taken more considerations of our kids’ thoughts before we make any decisions. To date, I believe we have a healthy CRM atmosphere at home, where differences are talked about and decisions are collective. It’s pretty cool.
I am sold to the idea that if I can deal with communicating better with my spouse, I can deal with communicating with any pilot I work with (married people will get what I mean)
All in all, I may not have flown that much this year, I did not get to do captain training at all, who knows what else might happen, at this point, who knows? One thing for sure, the pandemic and the quarantine that gave me time at home prepared me in more ways than one. It gave me the command mindset and it’s still teaching me even as I write this. This season has prepared my heart to be strong amidst trying times, to be calm in front of my crew, and to communicate with my crew better, by this time I think you know who I mean when I say “crew”. I may have not got my 4th bar at work, it may be years before I even do so, but one thing for sure, I got my 4th bar at home and that makes the whole quarantine experience and ground time all worth it.
This season has prepared my heart to be strong amidst trying times
My command mindset gained at home transformed my work mindset now, even if I’m not yet a commander, my captain, and our crew I see as my family and our plane is our home, and now everything is much more fulfilling than it was ever before. One day when my time comes, I will always be grateful for the time I got to spend at home, for the time I got my command, and this I will cherish until my last flight in life.
