Comments on: 6 Lessons On Decision-Making From Captain Sully

By: Jennie Korsbon

Jennie Korsbon — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

It is amazing what you can do if you just keep a cool head! When I think of the great leaders that I have been around, they all have these common traits. Thank you Lamar!

By: Kim Lopdrup

Kim Lopdrup — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Lamar:

Great story with leadership lessons from Captain Sullenberger. He is a terrific role model to follow when there is a crisis.

His situation reminds me a bit of Apollo 13, although with much less time to react. You will recall that Flight Director Gene Kranz demonstrated many of the same leadership behaviors in that crisis — and achieved an equally good outcome.

Kim Lopdrup

By: Doug Loeffler

Doug Loeffler — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Captain Sully exemplifies what all should leaders aspire to be; cool under intense pressure, relied upon by our stakeholders and admired for our courage to make the right decisions. This example of heroism reminds me of some of the 911 firefighters and police who focused on their lifelong training to save hundreds of lives. Very impressive!

By: Scott Sharp

Scott Sharp — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Thanks Lamar. This was an event that reinforced my belief that the world is full of good people that can do heroic things if needed. Captain Sully and his crew are examples of what is positive in our country at a time when we are surrounded by so many negative forces. I admire Sully’s calm but “Rock Solid” way of taking charge of a life and death situation. We can all learn from his leadership skills. Best of luck!

By: Jeff Callinan

Jeff Callinan — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Using recent and relevant examples really drives home the message of what true leaders are made of. It is compelling that the lesson comes from one of us..and everyday Joe. From the first interview I saw of “Sully” I knew he had extraordinary leadership skills…beyond those we could extract from a short interview. True leaders are not just in the right place at the right time. They are prepared, confident, competent, and are wired to do what is right. Sully’s demeanor, both during and after the event, is nothing less than heroic in itself. How can one handle that type of pressure, both during a crisis and then afterwords recounting the events in front of the nation, with such matter-of-fact confidence? Truely, preparation and selflessness are key components. The lessons you extract, linking this example to people’s everyday life are important, and exemplify that decisiveness can be both inspiring AND well calculated. Whereas, languishing over ramifications of a critical decision can be debilitating, and to often counterproductive. Good luck with your website & blog…I truely enjoyed your insight on this siginificant current event!

By: Dr. Michael O'Connor

Dr. Michael O'Connor — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Thanks for sharing your insights and views of these leadership lessons. As co-author of THE LEADER WITHIN and our research on leader effectiveness many of your points highlight our findings. This is a great example of how self-management capabilities can enable a person to effectively deal with extremely unfavorable situations by enacting their problem-solving capabilities for the betterment of all. And, yet I was particularly struck by two other attributes in the interview of this heroic leader. Both derive from his inner character that have been the bedrock for the 42 years of developing and demonstrating his capabilities during his career–specifically taking leadership responsiblity in such a crisis and his humble self-confidence.

By: Mike Burress

Mike Burress — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

As a private pilot, I know that the pros train over and over for emergencies their entire career, yet there is no way to completely prepare for this kind of event. Repeatedly practicing and preparing for what may happen gave this man the experience to be able to handle the toughest test. None of us know when our test will come, but are we preparing or simply observing?

By: Vital

Vital — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Lamar this was very interesting as you said. When reading it I was trying to think about how I handle situations in the office that are stressfull like putting bids together for a deadline. It’s clearly not the same thing that the pilot went through but it was interesting to read the six lessons above and find out which ones I might not meet. If your interested two of the lessons I need alot of work on. Thanks for the blog it was interesting and made me think of my everday life as a manager.

By: Richard Lemons

Richard Lemons — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

I think this is a great example of leadership in action and will almost certainly be a case study well into the future. It was critical that the direction and possible confusion by inputs from air traffic control did not cause Captain Sully to make the mistake of trying to navigate to one of the two airports suggested. He had the courage as well as the training to be confident, decisive and ultimately successful in landing the plane safely.

Also important is the realization he had that he was not only responsible for the safety of his passengers, but also of the people who would have been injured or killed on the ground as the plane would have almost certainly have come down in a heavily populated area. Even if the water landing had not been as successful as it was, Capt. Sully would still be a hero and a great leader.

In an instant his mission changed from get the people and the plane safely to the destination to that of safeguarding the safety of those on his plane and those on the ground. Fortunately for all involved, Capt. Sully had the ability to accept and execute his new mission when it was clear his original mission was no longer viable.

This was a bright spot to a nation desparately needing some good news as well as great lesson in leadership!!