Air Cover

If you are a war movie fan like me, you may appreciate that moment when the good guys are trying to mount this super impossible attack on their enemy. They radio ahead for air support but either their comms aren't right, or HQ said that it's a no-go. The commander of the ground forces does an inspiring speech to rally his lean catch of troops, and off they fight like never before. Just when you think they are losing, you (and they) hear the sound of heavy artillery. Boom-boom-boom goes the sound of mid-air machine guns or in modern day movies, rockets. You see this mounting change on the faces of the men and women on the ground and a newly-found grit and determination to WIN!! We hear another war cry. We too cheer for them. All of this just from some air cover?

I hear and often read about how organisations and leaders of businesses bring about the impossible in their worlds. In the pursuit of change, what we don't understand often enough is on the "Air Cover" that leaders give to their teams. You want change, and your people get that but how do you demonstrate that you've got their backs. If there's any fallout with business leaders or underlings, what is the air cover? All it takes is one demonstrable moment of air cover, and the battle for change is won. What do you do as leaders to tip this? 

I have had air cover. All it took was one manager to tell me that the reason she hired me was so that I could have her job (if I wanted). We had the conversation three days before I started on the role. Her words immediately took effect and changed my approach to situations and opportunities that appeared on my path. By nature, I am bold. But having that firepower had a profound impact. From that moment on, I made it a point to empower my direct reports and to stick to it. Yes, you may have one person who mismanages the trust. But what's that compared to eighteen others who have positively benefited from it? 

What is your air cover like? 

FYI, not a fan of wars.

This post represents my views and is not associated with Gartner.