Leading Salesforce Team with a Pilot’s Mindset

1. Know Your Crew (Team Dynamics) Just like in Cockpit Resource Management (CRM), the most valuable resource you have is your team. In aviation, each cockpit crew member, whether a pilot, copilot, or engineer, has distinct strengths. Similarly, on your Salesforce team, developers, admins, architects, and analysts each bring different skills. As a lead, your first priority should be to map these strengths and areas for improvement. Understanding who shines in Apex coding, who excels in integration, and who masters Lightning UI ensures you seat the right person in the right role.
2. Assign Roles Strategically In the cockpit, you can’t put the least-experienced pilot as the sole operator in heavy turbulence. You pair skill sets to offset weaknesses. On your team, assign complex integrations or critical implementations to your strongest problem solvers. Make sure your detail-oriented developers handle data migrations, and your big-picture thinkers design architectural roadmaps. This is how you mitigate risk and optimize performance.
3. Promote Clear, Efficient Communication Pilots rely on concise, critical communication to avoid chaos. The same goes for your SF dev team, establish consistent communication protocols. Daily stand-ups, weekly sprints, or Slack channels for urgent updates help everyone stay aligned. Clear communication fosters trust and empowers each member to make quick, effective decisions.
4. Provide Continuous Feedback and Support In aviation, you constantly train and debrief to improve outcomes and safety. In Salesforce development, do the same: debrief on each sprint, share lessons learned, and track performance. Constructive feedback loops strengthen your “cockpit” culture and guide individuals to better performance.
5. Encourage Training and Cross-Skilling A good pilot cross-trains on different aircraft and scenarios. Encourage your devs to explore new Salesforce features (say, CPQ or Marketing Cloud or AgentForce) or third-party integrations. Broader skill sets create a more resilient team, capable of pivoting quickly to meet new challenges. The best pilot is a learning pilot similarly best SF team member is learning one.
6. Balance Autonomy with Oversight In flight, you trust your copilot to manage their tasks without micromanagement, yet you maintain awareness and stand ready to assist. Similarly, grant your devs enough autonomy to problem-solve, but check in regularly so you can catch any issues early and steer the project to success.
7. Foster a Culture of Collaboration Pilots support each other, sharing knowledge to ensure a safe landing. Translate that spirit into your Salesforce team. Celebrate wins, learn from failures together, and make sure every contributor feels valued. The trust and unity forged through collaboration will carry your team through challenging “flights.”

By blending these cockpit principles into your leadership approach, you’ll harness the full potential of your biggest resource which is your team. Deploying the right individuals to the right tasks, communicating clearly, and fostering collaboration will guide your Salesforce projects to a smooth and successful touchdown every time.