2021: How to get back on the horse

Learning to ride a horse is hard. But getting back on a horse after you’ve taken a fall, well that’s harder still. You’re shocked, both your bum and your ego are bruised, you’re scared you might fall again, and there’s no way in hell you’re trusting that pony right now! And yet if you want to get from A to B, you do in fact have to put both feet back in the stirrups, grab those reins, and face the unknown.

2020 felt for many of us like trying to control a horse that was wildly galloping in the opposite direction and trying to buck us off along the way. So as the new year dawns, how can we find the confidence to ride again?

One guy who’s nursing a few bruises after a wild ride in 2020 is the outgoing CEO of Virgin Australia, Paul Scurrah. As the world was just coming to grips with COVID-19, Paul was watching his company Virgin Australia go into freefall, as borders shut and flights were grounded. But he’s seen a few rodeos in previous roles with Queensland Rail, Ansett, and Qantas, so Paul was quick to mount his horse again, working long hours under pressure to keep Virgin Australia afloat. He eventually inked a deal with US-based firm Bain Capital which would save jobs and the company. But Scurrah was then thrown the ultimate curveball. He was shown the door in favour of fresh leadership direct from the halls of his rival Qantas. If that’s not being thrown off a horse, I’m not sure what is.

I spoke to Scurrah (actually, twice!) for the leadership podcast Curveball, and what struck me was how calm and positive he remained through such a turbulent year. Here’s what I learned about what it takes to get back in the saddle…

No self-limiting beliefs

Scurrah says he learned early in his leadership career the importance of goal setting, positive self-belief, and discipline. As a teenager he was an exceptional Australian Rules footballer and still carries that competitive spirit into the board room.

“Anything can be achieved. People talk about limiting beliefs and the impact they have on achievement. I go into things with a very optimistic view – not an overly optimistic view, a realistic optimistic view that says, if we do this series of things, why shouldn’t we be able to achieve this?”

Scurrah recalls that early in his career in aviation, he was applying for a promotion.

"I was young, ambitious, maybe too cocky, by the way. In the interview, a guy who was two levels above me said, ‘where do you see yourself going in the airline?’ And because I’d been working on my mind and belief, I said, well there’s no reason why I can’t be the CEO here one day.

"And he said, ‘you’re kidding me’. I didn’t get the job and in the aftermath he berated me for being so cocky and even daring to believe that I could be the CEO.

“But he was right – I never ended up the CEO of Qantas,” he laughs, having taken the same role at Virgin instead.

In a crisis, mindset is everything

When it comes to managing people through a crisis, Scurrah says an unflinching belief that you can get through is essential.

“I truly believe that I can’t allow people to see me not in control," he says. "If I lose a bit of hope or they see that I’m not as on my game, I think that has a ripple effect through the organisation."

But it can't be an act, he says, and you definitely can’t fake it.

"I can’t pretend to be in control, I have to be. I can’t pretend to be optimistic, I have to be. If there’s another curveball that’s been thrown at us, I have to find a different way."

Scurrah also says you have to believe even the impossible is indeed possible. “As unrealistic as it seemed at the time to rescue an airline in the middle of a pandemic, it got rescued and we’re still in a pandemic. Had we talked about that beforehand, you'd say it would be almost impossible to save it or survive. So I've learnt that anything is possible.”

In a second interview with me (after he'd been dumped from the CEO role), a reflective Scurrah emphasised that in a crisis, you should also be careful what to give your attention and focus to.

“Success is about keeping your eye on the donut, not on the hole. So look at what is there and don't worry about what's not there. And there's plenty of other ways to say that: worry about the things you can control, not those you can't. So we could not control the pandemic, but we could control our reaction to the pandemic.”

After a fall, celebrate when you’re back on the horse

Anytime you’re thrown from your horse is an opportunity to climb back on but you can use it as a chance to ride a different way.

“So for me, all of that time was about knowing clearly what success looked like, having a series of smaller steps that took us from today to success, and to celebrate all of the small wins on the way that got us back there,” Scurrah explains. “For example, we went from a longlist of 10 buyers [for the airline] to a shortlist of four. We celebrated that. When we introduced new flights back into the system after working with the government to get subsidies, we celebrated the re-entry.

“We made sure that along the way we communicated the smaller steps that got us all the way to the end goal. And when we achieved them, we celebrated them.

"We also acknowledged setbacks that happened. But we always said this setback doesn't mean we can't get to the next step. And hence, every one of those little steps gets us to be successful again.”

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Curveball is the podcast (and now also a LinkedIn newsletter), where I take you inside the minds of top leaders. Subscribe (big button on the right) to this Curveball newsletter and you'll get weekly wisdom from the best in the business. Practical, honest, revealing advice from leaders and CEOs who adapt and persevere, even when times are tough. Next week, some advice from a woman who could rest on her laurels, having built a multi-million dollar business, but who would never sell the company because "then what would I do?"

And I'm keen to know which leader you'd like to hear from on Curveball. Suggest a guest, and tell me what you're keen to learn from them.

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