The life of a fighter pilot is not quite as glamorous as Hollywood would lead you to believe, says Carey Lohrenz. The first female F-14 Tomcat pilot in the U.S. Navy flew missions around the world and experienced what it’s really like to do this very demanding job.
“I put on 35 pounds of flight gear, then go up to the top of the flight deck, crawl into my plane and I’m launched off the front end of the aircraft carrier going from zero to almost 200 mph in just under two seconds,” Lohrenz says. “Within just a couple of minutes, we’re going about 450 to 500 mph all the while leading two, four, six, eight, sometimes 20 wingmen safely to a target and then back to the aircraft carrier.”
While in flight, Lohrenz points out that she has three different radios set to three different frequencies with people often talking at the same time feeding her information. Oh, and she’s also dealing with gravity constantly trying to pull her back to the earth, sometimes reaching a maximum of 8 Gs.
“That’s like trying to talk with a horse sitting in your lap,” Lohrenz says. “At the same time, all the blood is pulling from your brain and settling in your lower body cavity, trying to escape out your toes and it feels like your toenails are going to pull off. So there’s a lot of pressure.”
Lohrenz shared her story of being a pioneer in military aviation and how she has transitioned to civilian life when she spoke in August at Executive Women’s Day at Firestone Country Club. The business forum is sponsored by Astellas Pharma US Inc. and brings together influential women from the Akron area to focus on professional development, networking and health and wellness.
Lohrenz, the event’s keynote speaker and author of “Fearless Leadership: High-Performance Lessons from the Flight Deck,” spoke about her current role speaking about the fundamentals of winning under pressure, reducing errors and overcoming obstacles.
“I’ll often hear people say, ‘I’m not in a leadership position so I don’t know if this leadership thing applies to me,’” Lohrenz says. “I get that from a broad level. But the only way you can become the leader or contributor you were meant to be is if you understand that your first role as a leader is leading yourself. What are the things you’re good at? What are some things you need help with? We all need help with something.”
Break it down
It may seem to some like an impossible task to deal with the many, many responsibilities that come with being a fighter pilot, and Lohrenz admits it isn’t easy. But she adds that she wasn’t born with the skills to do it.
“The easiest way to break down what we do in a way that people outside of the fighter pilot world would be able to implement is the idea of aviate, navigate and communicate,” Lohrenz says.
“Aviate means first things first, focus on what matters. At the end of the day, you have to aviate. Just fly the airplane. Maintain control, keep it safe. Without that first step, nothing else matters. In business, when a crisis pops up, people feel overwhelmed. The first thing you need to do is slow down and make sure everybody is safe, stable and operational.”
Once that is done, Lohrenz says, you have to “navigate” and figure out what you’re going to do next and then “communicate.”
“Tell people, ‘Here’s the problem and here’s what we’re going to do about it,’” she says. “These few things are what your priority have to be right now. Fighter pilots aren’t born with the innate ability to prioritize tasks like that in high-stress environments. We learn the skills to do that. It’s that constant reorienting and refocusing on what matters. You can use the same tools in the civilian world to improve your execution, even in a crisis.”
Sense of purpose
Lohrenz felt the pressure of being a role model for other women as she came up through the Navy to become a fighter pilot.
“I didn’t want to be the one who ruined it for anybody who might come next,” Lohrenz says. “But there was also an element that I didn’t understand why there was all this attention because women had flown since the 40s. It was difficult for me to understand how we had forgotten that women had been flying for 60 years prior to me. But that didn’t make it any less stressful.”
The key for making a successful transition from military life to being a civilian again has been finding a sense of purpose.
“You go from no matter what branch of service you’re in, you had an extraordinary sense of purpose day in and day out,” Lohrenz says. “You knew why you were there. That is much more difficult to find in the civilian sector.”
Speaking to groups about how to overcome challenges has been a great opportunity for Lohrenz, who is working on earning her MBA in strategic leadership and writing her second book.
“That adrenaline kick is what people miss,” she says. “That’s why I love what I do now. I work with so many organizations that it keeps me engaged and on my toes.” ●
