Why Elite Fighter Pilots Never Fly Alone (and Why Your Business Shouldn’t Either)
Here’s something no one tells you about becoming a fighter pilot: your real breakthrough moment won’t necessarily be when you master the controls, nail your first perfect landing, or safely employ the jet in combat. It’s when you realize that your wingman can see things you can’t and knows things you don’t, and that makes you better.
Individual brilliance means nothing without a team that has your back.
Your Best Employee Isn’t Your Secret Weapon
Here’s something many leaders don’t want to admit: your star employee will never achieve alone what a truly connected team can accomplish together. It’s often easier to lean on one talented person than on a whole team, but when this “lone wolf mentality” is valued over collaboration, it often creates a sense of distrust within the organization.
Relying on one talented person is risky. It fosters the idea that it’s “every man for himself,” which can lead to real chaos, distrust, and even paranoia. When individuals operate on their own, their blind spots can cause them to miss details and make otherwise preventable errors; the pressure can be toxic, and your star is likely to burn out. On top of this, it can be demoralizing to other team members who think their efforts and contributions are of less value.
The Trust Factor That Transforms Teams
Popular leadership thought leader Simon Sinek knows a thing or two about the importance of building teams. He nailed it when he said, “A team is not a group of people [who] work together. A team is a group of people [who] trust each other.” Leaders must abandon the lone wolf mentality, and lean into teamwork as the method for reaching success.
The best teams I’ve worked with over the years share one defining characteristic: they operate in a culture that values communication and collaboration, where no single person has to have all the answers. This provides a sense of psychological safety that helps fuel trust, which leads to loyalty amongst teammates, which leads to improved measures of performance. And, ultimately, this will most likely result in mission success.
From Obstacles to Opportunities: The Mindset Shift
When your employees practice teamwork, they get to focus more on growth than on survival. They stop asking, “How can we survive this challenge?” and start asking, “How can we use this challenge to grow and become stronger?” When this happens consistently, teams excel, adapting to change, building resilience, and shining together. In short, they thrive.
This transformation can occur because teamwork spreads the burden that comes with challenges, so people can leverage diverse perspectives and ideas, as well as collective strengths, to reframe problems. The result of this is that the difficulties become catalysts for innovation and proactive decision-making. The bottom line: teamwork turns obstacles into opportunities for progress and growth, and ultimately, success.
