Breaking the Trust Barrier

How Leaders Close the Gaps for High Performance

For the members of the US Air Force Thunderbirds, teamwork is literally a matter of life and death. On maneuvers like the one pictured on the cover, the gap between jets is as little as 18 inches. The surge of momentum that comes with that level of closure has an incredibly positive impact on the team's mission. As you might imagine, sustaining that distance relies on the highest levels of trust.

"On the ground as in the air, from CEO to midlevel supervisor, we all face the same challenge," says former Thunderbird commander and demonstration leader JV Venable. Our job is to entice those in our wake to close the gaps on our teams - gaps in commitment, respect, and integrity that slow us down. Every foot of closure requires those in your wake to let go of the biases and mental safeguards that they believe keep them safe but in fact hold both them and the whole team back.

Overcoming the barrier of trust to fly less than an arm's length away from a jet moving 500 miles per hour at 400 feet off the ground is no small challenge. Creating that trust on a team with an annual turnover of 50 percent requires a predictable, repeatable process the Thunderbirds have been refining for more than half a century.

Venable has captured that process and packages it here with compelling stories that will build a path to your own extraordinary level of trust. This is a pause register that will be your go-to book on leadership. After you've listened to it, you'll see the power of closure everywhere, and you'll use Venable's techniques to lead your team to an even higher plane.

©2016 JV Venable (P)2016 JV Venable

Lightweight

Interesting anecdotes but an inch deep. The author seems to have been surrounded by yes-men and used positional authority so often he doesn’t realize that’s what the outcomes of his stories are caused by. I wonder what the people who worked under him would add to these stories?
The only story I felt added something to my leadership toolbox was the one about the golf course superintendent who told everyone his club had the best burger in town. (It didn’t) I’ll leave the punch line to the author.