Description

You wouldn't let a pilot fly a plane after watching a couple of YouTube videos. But we do that to leaders every single day—promote them, hand them the keys, and hope they figure it out.

In Episode 6 of The Frontline Leadership Podcast, host Craig Coyle introduces the concept of Ground School for leaders: the foundational knowledge every professional leader needs before they can effectively lead people, manage performance, and navigate organizational complexity.

Ground school is what pilots go through before ever touching the controls of an aircraft. They spend months learning aerodynamics, aircraft systems, weather, and aeromedical factors—the foundational knowledge that anchors every decision they'll make in the cockpit. Leadership requires the same systematic approach.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why 60% of new leaders fail within 18 months—and how ground school prevents this
• Why skills and tactics fail without foundation (and Craig's personal story of leading with a cracked foundation early in his career)
• The shift from treating leadership as a role to be filled to treating it like the profession it is
• The four foundational elements every leader needs: principles and values, emotional intelligence, broadened development, and systems thinking
• How self-awareness becomes the anchor for every healthy relationship—and why leadership is relational at its core
• How to honestly assess where you are in each ground school area—and chart a path forward

Whether you're a senior leader building systematic development infrastructure, an operations executive tired of watching new supervisors struggle, or a frontline leader ready to stop winging it and start leading like a professional—this episode gives you the foundation that everything else rests upon.

Resources mentioned:
Visit our Website:operationlead.com
Request a Call:operationlead.kit.com/requestcall

Connect with Craig:
Website:operationlead.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/operation-lead
Craig's LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/craig-coyle

About the show: The Frontline Leadership Podcast helps frontline leaders become professional leaders by building systematic development infrastructure that activates your workforce. New episodes weekly.