Create a Culture Where Employees Feel Empowered and Trusted, Says Decorated Fighter Pilot Harris

HONOLULU – After a storied 20-year military career as a United States Air Force officer, mission commander, and special operations pilot, Lt. Col. Jason Harris has transitioned to the speaker circuit, where he shares his unique combat leadership lessons and expertise with high level associations and Fortune 500 companies.

At Thursday’s general session, sponsored by Syngenta, Harris encouraged attendees to “empower and trust our people like our businesses and our lives depend on it.”

Harris said that leading service technicians, CSRs and others is similar to leading troops in that in both instances oftentimes you are relying on unproven teammates.

In the Air Force, crews who service on the C-130 aircraft are typically, 17, 18 and 19 year-olds and work on 80 percent of the aircraft. “They're responsible for the mathematical calculations, for loading of the aircraft, for chaining big stuff down in the back of the aircraft. They're responsible for the 60 Marines in the back and the 60 Army paratroopers at Fort Bragg.”

Harris said good leaders don’t sit behind a desk, but rather involve themselves in the day-to-day operations as much as possible. Relating this to pest control, Harris encouraged leaders to interact with frontline professionals as “they are the ones who see the blind spots” in your organization.