Standing at the Air Force Academy watching a glider get cut loose — it hit me.

That moment when the cable releases? It's coming whether the pilot is ready or not.

Over 20 years of watching leaders, I've seen it happen time and again. One day you're in the glider seat, being guided, being shaped. The next — you're flying on your own.

Today I want to pause and ask you two things:

Look back. Who was your guide? Who held the cable steady while you found your wings? Take a moment and give them a shout out. Tag them. Send the text. Make the call. They deserve to know the difference they made.

Look forward. Someone behind you is sitting exactly where you once sat — unsure, hopeful, maybe a little nervous. Before that cable cuts loose for them, they need patience. They need grace. They need you.

As my friend and fighter pilot Dan Daetz puts it from his own flying experience:

"Ready or not, you're disconnecting from the cable at the planned altitude — clear expectations. But you're doing so within gliding distance of a landing, and with that instructor still with you all the way — set up to succeed. Because the landing itself is the tricky bit. Expect bounces early on — room to fail."

Clear expectations. Set up to succeed. Room to fail.

That's not just great aviation wisdom. That's great leadership.

Happy flying. ✈️