This is a fantastic short, but highly valuable presentation by Christian Boucousis on the power of debriefing, and its high impact for you in business, aviation and healthcare leadership. If you want to lift your performance by 300% have a read and watch the short YouTube video at the end of this blog.
“We all drive a car, however, the way we drive can be very different”, according to Christian!
Some people drive very cautiously, they stick in the slow lane, both hands on the wheel, very much in control. If anything, they err on the slower side, unconsciously clogging up the traffic behind them. They are usually stressed on the journey, however diligently arrive at the destination.
Then there’s the casual driver, one hand on the wheel, probably on or slightly over the speed limit, indicating some of the time as they diligently keep to the slow lane unless overtaking. They are accepting of the world around them and know that they’ll get there eventually.
Now there’s the over-confident driver, usually consistently over the speed limit, weaving through congested traffic, becoming frustrated at everyone’s incompetence at driving. However, the fact they shaved 5 seconds off the drive to work, contributes to a mis-placed sense of achievement.
Talk to these drivers one on one and they think they are driving “the right way”. The way they drive, they presume, is the correct way, and everyone else is either “too slow”, “incompetent” or “driving like a lunatic”. Put them in a room together, guess what happens…
What’s interesting about driving is that because our brain is busy keeping an eye on the road, we don’t have as much capacity to keep our emotions in check or to moderate our behaviour. We’re busy working. We’re our real self, our ego.
That’s why driving is akin to leadership, when we lead and we’re busy, we unconsciously exhibit behaviours that may not be ideal for the circumstances we’re in or easily understood, or perhaps they conflict with our peers of team’s style. So what’s your default style when you’re under pressure? Who keeps you in check?
Debriefing is a great way to learn about the way you behave as a leader and as a team. Through debriefing we can review the behaviours that lead to our success and failures, leaning into the good ones, and adjusting the less great one’s.
A daily debrief can lift your performance by 300%, if practiced diligently.