Douglas Wood

Leadership Innovation (in a world migrating from human connection).

To help people build the character and resilience to achieve their impossible.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

I always thought a parent’s role was to teach, guide, set boundaries, nurture, and give a child something to aspire to - while still being humble enough to keep learning.

Maybe the goal isn’t to become only an advisor, but to become the kind of parent whose guidance our children still want when they no longer need it.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

Don't tell me I did a great job. That was my objective. Praise maintains the present.

Tell me where I failed to meet the expectations of the future. Critique improves the future.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

This is a big picture, filled with perspective.
A person becomes a leader when someone else decides: "I trust this person enough to follow them."

That decision is rarely based on authority.

It is based upon:
trust
understanding
competence
integrity
empathy
consistency

In other words, human connection.

A reminder of my "why":
Helping people build the character and resilience to become who they are capable of becoming.

In a way, this not really a leadership mission.
It's a human development mission.

Leadership is simply one of the outcomes.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

https://t.co/mMsN2br5ta

As a single gay (adoptive) father I am reeling after seeing how fragile our world has become.
How can four years of loving parenting be undone by a politically motivated zealot?
Why is there an unbalanced credibility given to the accuser?
Two good fathers don't make a good team?
Having worked in the foster care system for decades, I can tell you that most foster families face zero scrutiny simply because they are a necessary part of our system that throws away children who are not perfect.
In my eyes, every child is born perfect. It takes a parent to corrupt them.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

Many years ago, I was given a problem to solve.

I had no budget.
No team.
No roadmap.
No precedent.
And, if I'm being honest, I had no idea how it was going to work.

What I did have was a belief that a solution existed, and a vision of a solution.

I searched and found others who shared that belief.

Together, we challenged assumptions, learned from failures, adapted, and continued moving forward.

Eventually, what began as an idea became something adopted far beyond anything we originally imagined.

Looking back, the lesson was never about knowing how.

The lesson was about refusing to quit before discovering the answer.

Most worthwhile accomplishments begin long before anyone knows exactly how they will be achieved.

The people who succeed are often not the people with the best plan. They are the people who remain committed long enough to find one.

I did not know how.
I simply did not know how to quit.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

I love being wrong!
I don't die.
My humility is strengthened.
I learn that a particular path of thinking isn't constructive. There's a better way (that I just learned!).
My ego wasn't crushed (in fact, quite the opposite. It was given some exercise that it needed so very badly).

Nobody laughed at me...
quite the opposite...
they listened more and tightly because I became more human in front of them.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

It matters more than most people think.

Cutting corners not only leads to the normalization of deviance, but as in the Swiss cheese model used in aviation, even the tiniest of shortcuts can lead to massive catastrophe.

The takeaway? Avoid compromise.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

The team should focus on the mission.
The leader should focus on the obstacles.
Effective leaders quietly solve problems before they become distractions.
They secure resources.
Remove barriers.
Adjust plans.
Manage competing priorities.
Their responsibility is to create an environment where people can devote their energy to successful execution.
The best leaders absorb complexity so their teams can focus on excellence.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

Since 1987 I've worked alongside NATCA supporting the safety of the NAS (national airspace system). NATCA has always been a progressive institution and, in the latter part of my career, I was able to work with them at an executive level and found that throughout their organization they support the humans who are air traffic controllers. Yes, the humans (without qualification).

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

What is your "WHY"?

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

What's worse than one dangerous leader? A corporation whose promotion structure continues to promote like-minded people into titled positions.

[Douglas Wood @captdoug767]

Many leadership positions celebrate achievement.
The true leader celebrates becoming.
This is a subtle but important distinction.
The authentic leader isn't looking into the mirror and seeing success.
They're looking into the mirror and seeing the next lesson.