BSP 157: Dark Cockpit by Cpt. Emil Dobrovolschi & Octavian Pantis

What does the airline industry have in common with the business
world? Communication. This key element can have disastrous
consequences in our everyday lives, but more so when you’re a
pilot. Octavian Pantis and Captain Emil Dobrovolschi, authors
of Dark Cockpit: How to Communicate, Lead, and Be in Control
at All Times Like an Airline Captain, wrote the book to showcase
the parallels of how communication can affect our respective
professional industries. Pantis says the book is about
leadership and being a better professional, regardless of what we
do for a living. In his capacity as a professional airline
pilot, Captain Dobrovolschi is very familiar with the term “dark
cockpit.” In layman’s terms, it refers to the concept of the
cockpit being dark, with only environmental lights on. Basically,
everything is going as it should. Right now, Pantis adds, people
are feeling overwhelmed and facing many uncertainties making it
“easy to see the ‘lights’ going on in our lives.” He emphasizes the
importance of having leaders communicate effectively with their own
teams to help alleviate the warning lights going off around them.
That sense of constant communication is an important element to run
their teams productively without additional distractions. They
equated pilots flying with different crews all the time; therefore,
having to navigate different communication styles every single time
while managing to perform successfully. It’s the same in business —
and even though we don’t change co-workers every day, we still have
to engage with everyone around us, including clients and vendors
just as effectively. The book also focuses on fomenting the right
attitude, how to make better decisions, and enhance our situational
awareness. Captain Dobrovolschi says the most important skill
pilots can develop is non-technical skills and strongly believes
pilots are expert communicators. In fact, Pantis reiterates that a
pilot’s main responsibility is to notice what is going on in the
aircraft, to assess everything and take into account all the
information from all possible sources. It’s what they call building
their decision. In business, he adds, entrepreneurs tend to rush
into things instead of taking their time to assess the situation.
Instead, they should be more selective about rushing into a
situation and spend more time analyzing it thoroughly because a bad
decision can sometimes cost lives. Learn more about your ad
choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices