Moving the Needle: Get Clear, Get Free, and Get Going in Your Career, Business, and Life!

Chapter 14Wingmen and Bird Dogs

The only easy day was yesterday.

—Motto of the U.S. Navy SEALs

As you do the work of moving toward your goals, it can be helpful to secure the support of people around you to help keep you motivated and progressing in the right direction.

Too often we keep mention of our plans, our goals, and any obstacles in our way out of our conversations. We don't want to open ourselves to questions or criticism. For these reasons and more, we don't discuss the things most important to us.

If you prefer not to talk about what you want to accomplish and what's in the way, try making those topics a part of conversations with close friends and colleagues anyway. The more people you engage in the conversation, the better the counsel you'll receive. Having a team whom you can count on to be a source of advice, counsel, encouragement, and motivation—I call them wingmen or wingwomen—can make short work of tasks and decisions that otherwise seem daunting.

The term wingmen is military in origin. According to U.S. Air Force doctrine, a pair of fighter jets always flies in formation with one aircraft out in front and the other flying off the lead pilot's right wing and slightly behind. The second pilot is called the wingman and is given the charge to watch the lead pilot's back.

Figure 14.1 Do you have wingmen or wingwomen to watch your back?

Back on the ground, ...