April 18, 2023 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes)
Trust is everything. It was 1994. I was in a Fokker 100 circling 14,000 feet above the Ft Bragg drop zone. I was doing my first free fall jump with the U.S. Army Golden Knights. I’d been trained as a pilot in the use of parachutes, but not in the chute used by the Golden Knights. Nor was I trained in free fall. In other words, I was not used to voluntarily jumping out of perfectly good airplanes! By this time, I was a Lieutenant Commander with more than 2,000 hours in Tomcats and numerous night landings on carriers. I thought I was fearless. None of that prepared me for what happened next.
I had two Delta Force operators as instructors. They were each tucked in close to me, on either side. One of them opened the large cargo door for us to step out. Air rushed in and the North Carolina countryside came into view. It was way below us! I was struck with such fear that my knees buckled. My knees physically gave way. The fear was that intense. I shook my head and said,”Nope!” ”Not going to do that!” “No, no, no!” and backed away from the door. I had never been more terrified in my 35 years of life than I was in that moment.
Both instructors were supporting me by the arms. One of them looks me straight in the eye and says, “Sir this airplane is going to land and we aren’t going to be on it. We’re either going to throw you out, or you can take us out. Your call.”
In that instant, my fear disappeared. A sense of calm came over me. Somehow I knew I could trust these guys. I had just met them, but it was clear they knew what they were doing. Even if I fainted on the way down, I knew that somehow they would save my life. In that moment I had a feeling of intimate trust. I was ready to go.
I said, ”OK, 1, 2, 3… Off!” And out we went! It was so cool! I got so enamored with watching us fall away from the plane and being overwhelmed completely by how much fun it was, that I didn’t pull my own rip cord to open the chute! Sure enough, one of the operators pulled my cord as he tracked away from me. My chute opened with a big shock to my body and the howl of the rushing air went silent as I began my slow descent, taking in the spectacular view.
I missed the landing zone and landed about a mile and half away in a muddy corn field where I got all tumbled up in the mud. They came running over terrified they’d injured the Navy guy. I jumped up with a big grin on my face and yelled, ”Can we do that again?!”
This phenomenal experience only happened because of trust. Absent complete trust in the Delta operators, my fear would have drained my courage and put me on the floor. Who has your back when you face fearful unknowns? Having the trust of your team is critical to your leadership. There are three crucial elements to trust. I call them the 3 Cs:
- Character: You must be trusted to do the right thing.
- Competence: You must be trusted to know the right thing to do.
- Consistency: You must be trusted to do the right thing every time.
Character: What does it mean to do the right thing?
First, it is not about what you say you believe. It is about what you do. Doing the right thing generally involves acting in a way that is honest and respectful to others.
In many cases, doing the right thing may involve making difficult choices, such as standing up for your beliefs, speaking out against injustice, or admitting to a mistake. It can also involve making sacrifices of status or money. It means putting the needs of others before your own.
Ultimately, it is important to strive to align your beliefs with your actions. Cultivate a strong and consistent character that reflects your core values in the actions you decide to take.
Competence: What does it mean to know the right thing to do?
An incompetent money manager can lose your money as quickly as a dishonest one can steal it. So at a practical level, what does it mean to know the right thing to do?
In a business, military, or professional environment, you trust the leader who has demonstrated competence in the ability to navigate the path forward while anticipating and mitigating risks.
This reminds me of the Texas Two-Step story I share in my book, Learn How to Lead to Win: 33 Powerful Stories and Leadership Lessons. It was well known from my XO days in operations on the USS Carl Vinson that when an aircraft carrier or another large ship was in the San Diego channel, no other ship could pass in that channel at the same time.
We all accepted that to be fact. I later learned that assumption to be false. I was captain of the USS Sacramento on the first occasion when we passed a submarine in the channel. About a week after that, we passed an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln under the command of Captain Kendall Card.
Both Kendall and I wrote our wives, Becky and Kelly, about the incident. As it turned out, they were at home in Bremerton and that same night they were at a party with Rick and Diane Wren. Rick Wren was my CO on the USS Carl Vinson. They were laughing about the event and told Rick about the Texas Two-Step we had done in the San Diego channel with the Abraham Lincoln. Rick wouldn’t believe it and turned red as a rooster telling the wives we couldn’t possibly have done that.
How were we able to do what Rick believed to be impossible? Two years prior, I had gone to ship driving training where I met a wonderful old ship captain and instructor named Bud Weeks. Bud showed me that two large ships could in fact pass in the San Diego channel. By challenging me, he raised my competence. In turn, my crew came to trust my competence.
Consistency: What does it mean to do the right thing every time?
Would you trust a car that fails to start one out of 20 times? No. The car has to be 100% reliable for you to trust it. You expect it to start 20 out of 20 times, or you’re taking it in to be repaired.
It is critical for a leader to be 100% reliable in both their character and competence in order for their people to trust them. A leader who consistently demonstrates ethical behavior, authentic empathy for people, and a commitment to doing the right thing is more likely to earn the respect and loyalty of their teams. That’s why people feel more secure and confident in following their leader.
Similarly, a leader who possesses the knowledge and skills to make effective decisions is more likely to inspire confidence and trust in their teams. With these qualities, a leader is far more likely to command their trust and respect, which will lead to higher morale, higher productivity, and greater overall success.
I believe it was H. Jackson Brown Jr., author of Life’s Little Instruction Book, who said: “Your beliefs don’t make you a better person, your behavior does.”
Lead from your heart. Lead to Win.
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