Mr. Keil, "Crash or Smooth Landing? The Team Makes the Difference" is the title of your lecture at the 12th Oberbayerisches Wissensforum in Rosenheim. You provide the answer in the title. What characterizes a good team?
Philip Keil: Teamwork is a very exciting and multifaceted topic. And an underestimated factor of success - on the ground as well as in the air. Using the example of an aircraft crew makes it clear: each crew member is unique. Age, experience, characteristics, and area of responsibility. But they all are in the same boat, have the same goal, and must be able to rely on each other despite their different backgrounds. What ground teams often lack are self-responsibility and trust. These are soft skills that cannot simply be turned on, but can only develop when each individual in the team opens up to it. Leadership is also crucial here: those who demand initiative and collaboration from their employees must promote space for new ideas and mistakes.
As a commercial pilot, you are an expert in team leadership. How do you steer your team through turbulence?
The art is to be prepared as a team for such situations. If I only start thinking about good leadership when all warning lights are flashing, it is usually too late. We call this approach "Ahead of the airplane," always being mentally one step ahead. A leader in calm times asks: What dangers are lurking and how would we as a team react to them? What would be the specific steps? As pilots, for example, we regularly train in the flight simulator for such horror scenarios. But even on every routine flight, we discuss what to do if an engine fails before takeoff. In the business cockpit, everyone in the team must have the same mental image even before the engines start. This is the captain's task.
Which strategies from the cockpit can be transferred to a ground crew?
This metaphor of a crisis simulator is also relevant for companies. Regularly critically examine weaknesses and develop strategies before a crash threatens. For example, IT companies employ hackers to identify vulnerabilities in their own systems and plug security gaps. From my work with companies, I know that future topics such as digitization, Industry 4.0, or artificial intelligence displace beloved routines and established processes, causing uncertainty. This is similar to an engine failure. Suddenly everything changes. In the business world, teams beyond rigid hierarchies must find ways to react quickly and coordinated to turbulence. This explicitly includes our attitude towards mistakes. Companies and airplanes do not crash because an individual makes a mistake, but because no one in the team sees the mistake - or wants to see it! This creates a chain of errors, like dominoes, one event triggers the next. A good team is like a tight-knit net that catches a mistake and allows all members to learn from it. We pilots learn from the mistakes of our colleagues for a lifetime, for example, in specially designated internal forums. If the mistake was not intentional, it is not sanctioned.
Have there been critical situations in your professional career that you could only master thanks to a perfectly coordinated team?
In February 2009, I almost crashed for real. We took off in Egypt with 189 passengers on board when we were hit by a severe wind shear. A stall at low altitude is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a pilot. Through a trained maneuver, I was able to regain control of the aircraft at the last moment and stop the free fall. Even though this situation was an individual action, I felt strong because I was part of a strong team. Another time, a passenger had a heart attack on a night flight from Mexico back home. We had to initiate an emergency landing immediately, from 13 km altitude, in an area we hardly knew and in complete darkness. Without a perfect collaboration between two pilots, one focusing on controlling the aircraft and the other supporting him, communicating with the tower, preparing the approach, etc., such an emergency landing would have been a suicide mission. But within 10 minutes, we landed safely, and the passenger survived.
In your seminars, you also train managers on flight simulators. What learning processes does this trigger?
My lectures and seminars thrive on an exciting change of perspective: looking at business topics such as change management, communication, and teamwork through the lens of a pilot. We are more open to new things when we momentarily step out of our familiar environment. It is important to me that leaders can authentically immerse themselves in the world of a pilot to apply the learned tools directly in real-time. This mix of adrenaline and aha-moments ensures that the impulses stick and are integrated into everyday work. Supporting each other, communicating concisely, and sharpening the focus on the essentials - that's what the crew learns.
How can daily routines be combined with creative problem-solving?
By questioning routines and gradually adapting them to new challenges. Routines are a very important part of our daily lives and by no means negative or a sign of stagnation. Routines conserve our capacities and optimize processes. Also in the cockpit. The key is not to mentally switch to "autopilot." Today, more than ever, it is crucial to react flexibly and try new things. Companies can only change if the people in those companies are willing to change. This is where the team comes into play again. Many perspectives, a second opinion on an equal footing, all of this can help individuals find new approaches to new questions.
What advice do you give to leaders to improve communication in the company?
The task of leadership is clearly to create an environment for employees to contribute better. This can only be achieved with trust. A good leader is not concerned about employees trusting them. Rather, they succeed in making employees trust themselves. In the cockpit, this climate is created by entrusting even young, inexperienced pilots with the control of the aircraft as the so-called "Pilot Flying" from day one. The captain provides support when needed but also deliberately allows minor mistakes. This way, the young pilot gains valuable experience, develops self-confidence, and receives the motivating signal from their "boss": I trust you, and mistakes are part of it! This change is also reflected in how we communicate with each other.
In your book "Ready for Takeoff," you show a way to unleash one's own potential. Can you share some strategies of professional pilots?
Certainly! FORDEC is a decision checklist from NASA. Many people struggle to make decisions in everyday life and ponder over problems. In the cockpit, we must act quickly and thoughtfully at the same time. For this, we first ask ourselves: What are the facts? Look at your situation impartially, like an outsider. Then we look for options: what solutions are available? Note down even unconventional paths without judgment. Then we weigh the pros and cons of each of these options (Risks and Benefits). Mentally play through each option: If I were to choose this, what are the risks and disadvantages? What are the chances and opportunities that would arise? Get an overview and then make your decision. It is important now not to immediately question this decision again but to take action: How do I implement this decision now? Define the concrete steps clearly and constantly check: am I still on course? Is everything going as planned, or do I need to make adjustments? Or have the facts changed, so I need to redo FORDEC? Make sure to write down this checklist. This gives you an overview and visually captures your situation. Instead of pondering, this checklist gives your thoughts a clear structure. And in the end, it is not just a decision but its implementation.
You also deal with stress resilience. What tips can you give to the attendees of the Oberbayerisches Wissensforum?
Stress arises either when we overwhelm ourselves or when the situation overwhelms us. In both cases, it is a feeling of helplessness. The first and most difficult step is actually to move out of the victim role into self-determination. As a pilot, I cannot influence external influences like bad weather or a technical defect. But I still have the controls in my hands. So, it is solely my decision how I react to these circumstances. It is up to me to set priorities and focus my resources on my goal. We must realize that we are the pilots in our lives. Then we usually find that only a few things are really important and that we are the ones putting pressure on ourselves.
Mr. Keil,
thank you for the conversation!
[Interview: Maria Stuffer-Chunphetch]
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