Debrief Like a Carrier Aviator
Aviators have obvious skills around aircraft handling, navigation, and communication, but did you know that they are also professional debriefers? After every event, whether a routine training flight or a combat mission, aircrew would gather in the ready room, and the mission commander would put two words on the white board:
“Goods” and “Others”
And for the next 15 minutes or more, depending on the number of aircraft involved, we’d debrief the flight. Break it down from beginning to end…mission planning, flight brief, aircraft man-up and launch, transition to the target or operating area, the operation or exercise itself, and return-to-base (RTB) including recovery (our word for “landing” on an aircraft carrier)…recapping the events and then evaluating them. This process, though simply part of a routine, served as much more than just a recap..
The Benefits of Developing a Debriefing Habit
Because of this practice, aviators gain strengths in three areas that are critical for engagement, mastery, and camaraderie.
- We were able to internalize strengths and successes. We would identify those things that could have gone better and be clear about the opportunity for improvement, while casting it in the light of the whole mission, such that no one error could disproportionately color an individual’s evaluation of the flight. In other words, we wouldn’t make a mountain out of a molehill. Learn the lessons together as a team and move on.
- We also got really comfortable with giving and receiving feedback. As cocky as military aviators can be, there is a shared standard of humility—an insistence that your fellow aircrew be open to hearing others’ observations, owning up to faults, and working to improve. Show a lack of humility and you’ll get a demeaning callsign intended to quiet any arrogant thought that might exit your mouth. Just ask IKE (I Know Everything), Bedet (Been There, Done That), or Newman (Seinfeld reference) how smart they were!
- Through debriefs, aircrew hone their power of observation. They learn to notice the factors that impact the mission, and they pay attention to technique--constantly. In the aircraft I flew, the EA-6B, there were three naval flight officers (“Goose” from Top Gun was an NFO), so there was always an opportunity to learn from the successes and foibles of two other NFOs during each flight.
Start Debriefing Like a Carrier Aviator Today
Whether you are wrapping up a project, a client engagement, or an entire year, here are 6 ways you can start debriefing like an aviator:
1. Be balanced in your approach. Draw out both “goods” and “others.” Too much awareness of “others” and you’ll seed self-doubt. Focus only on the “goods,” and you’ll cultivate the next IKE or Newman on your team.
2. Coach your team on how to give and receive feedback so that the message is clear AND less likely to yield defensiveness.
3. Assign people specific roles as observers in the next round (project, engagement, or business quarter). What will they be assigned to notice? How will they be expected to share their findings?
4. Define the structure of the debrief in advance—will you evaluate the project chronologically, by function, or by some other structure?
5. Give time to prep, or do it on the fly? To draw out your diverse team more effectively, give them time to prepare before a group debrief. To build their comfort with debriefing, save the last 2-5 minutes of every regular meeting to do a mini-debrief of the meeting itself. It’s a both/and, not an either/or. Bonus: make it predictable and you’ll get better quality feedback, more engagement, and more skill development.
6. Do it informally sometimes! The most memorable debriefs were the ones we did over a greasy slider in the wardroom after a long mission. There’s something to be said for the slightly celebratory, definitely human, aspect of breaking bread together after a job well done.
Develop the habit of debriefing, and it just becomes part of the routine—a simple routine that develops engagement, mastery, and camaraderie.