Influences

How our experiences mark us

Harry Reasoner was famous for his dry wit, trusted reporting, and for launching the television show 60 Minutes with co-host Mike Wallace. He served in the military in World War II and reported on almost every armed conflict for decades. An article by Reasoner was published in 1973 in Approach magazine, the Naval aviation monthly safety publication, in which he stated:

The thing is, helicopters are different from airplanes. An airplane by its nature wants to fly and, if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in the delicate balance, the helicopter stops flying, immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. 

This is why a helicopter pilot is so different a being from an airplane pilot, and why in general, airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant extroverts, and helicopter pilots are brooders, introspective anticipators of trouble. They know if anything bad has not happened, it is about to.

I spent almost ten years of my life with at least one foot in the cockpit of a helicopter. Whether I like it or not, many thousands of hours of studying, pre-flighting, flying, post-flights, etc. have made their indelible mark. I have a certain risk-tolerance profile. You have to be willing to take some risk to sit behind the controls of any aircraft, and, as Reasoner said, probably more so for helicopters given the nature of their flight characteristics…or lack thereof. But you also have to be a little paranoid. There was a saying that instructor pilots would pass along to their students, “There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.” I’ve used a similar colloquialism, “I am a belts and suspenders type of person” to describe my approach to risk in general. I’m willing to take risks but I know things never go as planned. I want to not only have a plan B but also a plan C for when plan A invariably doesn’t work out. 

This approach to risk has probably served me well in many regards but also held me back in other ways. I’ve long thought that I wasn’t a great 0-1 person, meaning taking something from just an idea into an MVP to find product market fit. Probably too much risk for me, given the statistics on failures. If we refresh ourselves with Kent Beck’s Three X model (eXplore, eXpand, eXtract), I see myself as a much better fit for scaling up or expanding teams, companies, or products. I also don’t see myself great at extracting value, not enough risk and I get bored. Since we’re exploring what roles we’re best suited for based on our risk tolerance we need to discuss Frank H. Knight and his 1921 book, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit. This was a foundational work in the field of economics that distinguishes between risk and uncertainty and explores their implications for profit and entrepreneurship.

According to Frank Knight, risk is involved in situations where the probability of different outcomes is known, such as gambling or insurance. Uncertainty is involved in situations where the probabilities of outcomes are unknown, making it impossible to calculate the odds. Knight would argue that entrepreneurs are key players in the economy because they make decisions under uncertainty. They take on uncertainty and, in return, have the potential to earn profits as a reward for their willingness to take on unknown outcomes. He would also probably argue that piloting an aircraft is more about risk and less about uncertainty. Piloting an aircraft involves situations where the probabilities of different outcomes can be calculated based on historical data, training, and established safety protocols. For example, the likelihood of mechanical failure, adverse weather conditions, and other variables are generally known and can be managed through training, maintenance, and technology.

However, Knight’s view of risk and uncertainty are pretty simplistic. More recent research has demonstrated that people willing to take on some level of risk, as measured by stock market investments and personal debt levels, were 50% more likely to start their own businesses. However, these businesses have about 25% lower sales and 15% lower return on assets. Other modern research highlights how cognitive biases, such as overconfidence and optimism bias, affect entrepreneurs' perceptions of risk and uncertainty. Entrepreneurs often underestimate risks and overestimate their chances of success. Another more modern approach to understanding entrepreneurship is how entrepreneurs distinguish between risks that can be diversified away (unsystematic risk) and those that affect the entire market or industry (systematic risk). 

Thus far we’ve discussed how something like risk-tolerance, that we learn or experience early in our careers, can affect us for decades. There are numerous other factors that we can experience that might impact our decision making and even career choices many years in the future. One of these is trust. Early exposure to a work environment where trust is paramount can be incredibly formative. Witnessing colleagues collaborate openly, share information freely, and give each other the benefit of the doubt fosters a sense of security and psychological safety. This can translate into a career where you value transparency, build strong relationships with colleagues, and readily delegate tasks. Conversely, experiencing a workplace with a culture of distrust can have a detrimental effect. Witnessing micromanagement, secrecy, or backstabbing behavior can make you wary of future employers and colleagues. You might become hesitant to share ideas, struggle to delegate, and prioritize individual work over collaboration.

Researcher has shown that trust is an important element in improving young professionals’ adaptation into the working community and that trust strengthens young professionals’ professionalism and professional development at work. A study by Amy C. Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, that is explored in her book, Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy, suggests that early career exposure to psychologically safe environments fosters intrinsic motivation, initiative, and a willingness to learn new skills. This can lead to increased career exploration, skill development, and ultimately, a wider range of career options later in life. Other research published in the Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management in 2023, suggests that psychological safety precedes trust and collectively increases individual job satisfaction. When employees feel safe, learning occurs more quickly, peers rely on each other, and team performance improves. Trust in peers and management influences psychological safety development.

Another factor that I believe can be impacted early on in one’s career is long working hours. I think attorneys are pretty notorious for this. I’ve not gone to law school, clerked, or been an associate but from the outside it seems like they put in incredibly long hours in most major law firms with the hope that someday they will become a partner. At most firms it takes seven years to be up for a partnership vote. Once they make partner, they seem to keep working those incredibly long hours. Now some of that is probably motivated by billables and the impact that has on their personal compensation but it also seems like they can’t really stop working such long hours. Have they trained themselves after seven years to work that way? 

There is evidence supporting the claim that long working hours early in a career can become habitual and impact work-life balance negatively in the long term. Research suggests that early career professionals often face intense pressures which can lead to a pattern of extended working hours. These patterns, once established, can be difficult to break and may lead to persistent issues with achieving a healthy work-life balance later in life.

For instance, a systematic review on work-life balance highlighted that the formation of work habits early in one's career, particularly around long working hours, is influenced by organizational culture and personal drive to prove oneself. These habits then become ingrained and can persist, making it challenging to adapt to different work-life expectations later on​. Starting your career in a demanding environment that requires long hours can have both positive and negative consequences. On the positive side, it can instill a strong work ethic, time management skills, and the ability to handle pressure. You might become accustomed to fast-paced environments and thrive under deadlines.

However, the constant hustle can also lead to burnout, resentment, and a skewed perception of work-life balance. It might make you prioritize work over personal well-being and potentially lead to health issues. Moreover, studies suggest that the normalization of long working hours can lead to significant stress and burnout, which are difficult to reverse even with changes in work environment or job roles. This aligns with findings that prolonged work hours can negatively impact various aspects of personal health and well-being, further complicating efforts to achieve a better work-life balance as careers progress​.

It is not surprising that our experiences shape us. However, we might be surprised at how that happens in terms of risk-tolerance or risk aversion, trust, or even how many hours we put in on the job. Understanding the deep-seated impact of early career experiences on professional development is not just crucial for self-reflection but equally vital for effective leadership and management. As leaders, gaining insight into the foundational experiences of our employees can significantly enhance our ability to guide and support their career paths. By recognizing how initial exposures to risk, trust, and work intensity have shaped their perceptions and behaviors, we can tailor our management strategies to better align with their intrinsic motivations and potential areas of growth.

This awareness prompts us to create a management approach that not only acknowledges but actively leverages the diverse backgrounds and experiences within our teams. It encourages us to foster an environment that respects and builds upon these early influences, whether they involve navigating the complexities of risk-taking or the nuances of team dynamics influenced by trust. By doing so, we not only optimize our team's performance but also contribute to a more supportive and adaptive workplace culture.

In essence, understanding the imprint of early career experiences on our employees offers a strategic advantage in leadership. It enables us to craft personalized developmental plans that recognize past influences while paving the way for future achievements. This approach not only enhances individual job satisfaction and career development but also fortifies the overall resilience and innovation of our organizations.

I'll leave you with one more description of helicopter pilots from the famous author John Steinbeck. Between December 1966 and May 1967, the sixty-four-year-old Steinbeck toured the major combat areas of South Vietnam and traveled into Laos, documenting his experiences in a series of columns titled “Letters to Alicia,” in reference to Newsday publisher Harry F. Guggenheim’s deceased wife. His columns were controversial, coming at a time when opposition to the conflict was growing and even ardent supporters were beginning to question its course. As he ventured into the field, rode in helicopter gunships, and even fired artillery pieces, many detractors labeled him a warmonger and worse. On January 7, 1967, Steinbeck was at Pleiku, where he flew aboard a UH-1 Huey helicopter with D Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry. He wrote the following about the helicopter pilots:

I wish I could tell you about these pilots. They make me sick with envy. They ride their vehicles the way a man controls a fine, well-trained quarter horse. They weave along stream beds, rise like swallows to clear trees, they turn and twist and dip like swifts in the evening. I watch their hands and feet on the controls, the delicacy of the coordination reminds me of the sure and seeming slow hands of (Pablo) Casals on the cello. They are truly musicians’ hands and they play their controls like music and they dance them like ballerinas and they make me jealous because I want so much to do it. Remember your child night dream of perfect flight free and wonderful? It’s like that, and sadly I know I never can. My hands are too old and forgetful to take orders from the command center, which speaks of updrafts and side winds, of drift and shift, or ground fire indicated by a tiny puff or flash, or a hit and all these commands must be obeyed by the musicians hands instantly and automatically. I must take my longing out in admiration and the joy of seeing it. Sorry about that leak of ecstasy, Alicia, but I had to get it out or burst.