Your Wingman: How flying an F-16 relates to best practices in business

Flying an F-16 successfully and being good at business are a lot alike.

That's according to Air Force Lt. Col. Rob "Waldo" Waldman, whose new book Never Fly Solo discusses leadership lessons, building trust and being successful in business.

On this Veterans' Day, Waldman talked about his experiences with Chris and Amy during the Daily Debrief.

"It's the things that challenge us that help us create opportunities and that help us see a lot of things in our lives where we might have blindspots. When I decided to become a speaker, it was mostly because of the challenges I had dealing with my fears as a fight pilot that made me realize -- wow, there's something here that I overcame and how could that apply to life and personal development?"

The theme of his series, Wingman, is that no one can really fly solo. Waldman said he believes the three most important words in business are 'I need help'.

"When you call out 'mayday', that's the wingman's call to action -- and, when you have those relationships with the people in your life -- the folks that are there for you, backing you up, holding you accountable, being there to be a should to cry on and also to help lift you up -- it makes such a huge difference when you're dealing with the missiles of diversity and change that are being shot at us every day."

His main goal is to break the stigma that asking for help has in many offices.

He said most people in business, especially executives, feel that exposing themselves could lead to failure.

This shouldn't be the case in the private sector, he added, because it certainly isn't the case during a debrief in the Air Force.

"The most important thing we do at the beginning of the debrief is for the flight lead -- the top officer -- to expose his or her weaknesses and the things that they messed up to say, 'Hey guys, this is what went wrong today'. If the leader can do it, then it will open up a whole vast amount of communication and allow the other wingmen in the formation to share their issues."

In the boardroom, Waldman said, the same should apply.

"If you're a board member, and the leader is listening on a call, you have to realize that if you want to create an environment where your wingmen are bringing you their problems -- which is the sign of a leader, because you've got to solve the problem -- you have to create an environment where [employees] can come to you for help. The best way to do that is by showing them some of your vulnerabilities."

Waldman said this culture shift starts from the top down. He added that, above all else, honesty is the best policy.

"If you have a checklist, basically, and say, 'You know what, I just need to be honest,' and come from a point of compassion, humility and mutual respect, that's something that you don't need to create. It's just talking from the heart. I think, now more than ever, people are looking for that. You don't need to be an eloquent or charismatic speaker or philosopher to really get people to buy into what's coming from your heart."