On March 24th 2015, Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of GermanWings flight 9525 deliberately slammed his plane into a mountain in the French Alps killing 150 passengers. Lubitz was a marathon runner, he flew planes as a hobby and was described as a normal young man. According to a CNN article Lubitz was found “unfit to work” by his doctor. In 2009 he was treated for depression over a span of 18 months.
As the investigators scoured Lubitz’s home they found the remnants of a note from his doctor that stated he should not return to work. The authorities do not have much to go on regarding Lubitz’s mental state. His family and friends have only pointed out the his actions were inconceivable. The latest information reveals that Lubitz had undergone psychotherapy for suicidal tendencies before he acquired his pilot license.
In a recent CBS interview, former pilot and aviation consultant Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenger – known for the miracle on the Hudson – stated, “We fly all the time with people we never met before”. With that said, in many instances co-pilots and captains often meet for the first time during any given flight. There is no mention of a deep relationship between Lubitz the co-pilot and Patrick Sondenheimer, the captain of flight 9525.
Now, let’s take a step back.
If you are leading an organization you may have the opportunity to spend more time with your co-pilot (right-hand man/woman). When asked, many people say relationships are of utmost importance. However, in reality if the closest people in our lives filled out a report card regarding depth of our relationships what would it reveal? Are your relationships shallow, fractured, or well cultivated?
We don’t know if the outcome of flight 9525 would have been different if the captain had a deeper relationship with the co-pilot. If the relationship was deeper or well cultivated, could Lubitz have been persuaded to step off the ledge?
Think about the people you lead in your family, community or on your job.
How much time are you investing in building up your most important relationships? Our lives are full of adversity. The magnitude of this question is ginormous because it very well could lead to a life or death situation.
“With the furious pace of change in business today, difficulty to manage relationships sabotages more business than anything else – it is not a question of strategy that gets us into trouble, it’s a question of emotions.” – John Kotter
