Module 4 Reflection Blog Melissa Burns

 Module 4 Reflection Blog

Melissa D. Burns

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Blog Assignment:  Share instances where you have experienced a tipping point at work. When you experienced the tipping point, describe how positive or negative emotional attractors played a role in it.

The Study

            When I think about a tipping point, the first thing I think is that point at which you tip due to too much stress, but for the purposes of this blog the tipping point being discussed is a positive one.  This idea of a positive performance tipping point results in positive consequences including success and effectiveness of leaders (Boyatzis, 2006).  What Boyatzis is referring to when he discusses a tipping point, is one of emotional intelligence and cognitive competencies which lead to a predictable increase in performance of leaders (Boyatzis, 2006).  According to the case study done at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, there are a set of competencies that are necessary for leaders to have outstanding performance and a measurable amount of competency that is considered to be sufficient to gain these outstanding performance results (Boyatzis, 2006).  The idea of competencies in emotional intelligence evolved from early observations of what they referred to as talent (Boyatzis, 2006).  Top performing leaders were selected for the study based on their outstanding performance by, “distinguishing themselves as exceptional in managing client and internal relationships, in growing business, and in managing a part of the practice or a business area (Boyatzis, 2006)”.  The leaders were split into different clusters and the competencies that led to greater performance per cluster were as follows:

“Self-motivation cluster: Planning, Achievement Orientation, Self-confidence; 

Self-regulation cluster: Taking a Risky Stand, Self- control, Adaptability, Conscientiousness, Values Learning; 

People management cluster: Networking, Leadership, 

Coaching, Empathy, Facilitates Learning; and 

Cognitive cluster: Systems Thinking. (Boyatzis, 2006).”  

What was the situation?

            When we start in any job or sport there is a learning process that we go through that helps to lead to a decrease in tunnel vision and what we like to call drinking from a firehose.  When learning to fly we see students go through progressions in learning and learning plateaus.  Often times, students have to take a break from something or find a new way to look at or approach a subject in order to get past a learning plateau.  In the competition world that tunnel vision is made stronger when stressors are added.  At the World Championships level of aerobatics we have the added pressure of financial stress, training fatigue, competition anxiety and sponsorship and performance pressure.  I had a moment at the World Championships in France in 2015, where I hit a tipping point in my performance as a US Team Member.    

What did you do?

            I found myself turning to dive into the aerobatic box in my Edge540 and began rocking my wings three times to signal the beginning of my routine, when, I found myself smiling and feeling calm and happy.  I don’t know how else to describe what I felt, except to say that I was not nervous, I didn’t get any sort of tunnel vision, in fact I felt like time slowed down.  What was the difference this year compared to previous years?  I have asked this question to world champions in different sports and they all say the same thing, they had done everything that they could to prepare for that moment and they knew that they couldn’t do anything more to do any better than they were going to do.  In other words, they dove in knowing that they were prepared and would perform as well as they could based on their preparation and training.  There is no last-minute nervous wondering what else you could have done or wishing you had done more or thinking that you could do anything differently in that moment than you had done in your training.  The difference is in knowing and having the confidence to do what you trained to do.  This is a matureness that is gained over time in a sport and is what most world champions are made of.  

            When considering the competency of self-motivation, self-regulation, people management and cognition I would put cognitive, self-regulation and self-motivation as the primary factors that led to my tipping point.  At this point I had been competing for a decate at the World Level of Aerobatics in the top Unlimited category.  I have worked with coaches throughout my career and my coach in 2016 was the best in the business.  The combination of a good coach, a supportive team, time and experience in the sport and a drive to practice and perform helped to lead me to my success.  While I was not World Champion, I did the best that I believe I could have done with the US having only one judge on the line and the two women who beat me came from countries with 2 judges on the line.  I finally reached the point where I was able to go into a world competition knowing that I was ready and that there was nothing left to do but perform and do what I already knew I could do, because that is what I practiced.  One day I had my coach turn to me in training and said, “Melissa, you never make zeros or mistakes in training” and I told him, “I practice how I compete.”      

            In a study on world-class athletes it was determined that, “high sport confidence facilitated performance through its positive effect on athletes’ thoughts, feelings and behaviors (Hays et al., 2009)".  The mental game or “thinking system” part of being a champion includes having the right mindset.  Joanna Zeiger focuses on her journey as an Olympic athlete and the importance of mind/body cohesion, motivation, intention in training and proper goal setting (Zeiger, 2017).  

What was the result?

            I placed third in the world for Unlimited Aerobatics and became the first American to stand on the World Podium in over 15 years.  

What would you do differently?

            My biggest downfall of the competition was my lack of exposure in Europe and my personal support system at the competition.  I did not put people management on my list of competencies because it is the area that was lacking for me at this competition.  I had my now x-husband with me and we were fighting about everything and it put extra stress on me that did not help my performance.  Most of the judges are from Europe and there is always a bias towards pilots whom they are familiar with.  I spent every other summer performing at a handful of airshows in Europe and if I could have also competed annually at the European Championships I believe this would have helped my overall results.  

References

Boyatzis, R. (2006).  Using Tipping Points of Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Competencies to Predict Financial Performance of Leaders.  Retrieved from http://www.psicothema.com/pdf/3287.pdf

Hays, K.; Thomas, O.; Maynard, I.; & Bawden, M. (*2009).  The Role of Confidence in World-Class Sport Performance.  Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640410903089798  

Zeiger, J. (2017).  Champion Mindset.  Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Mindset-Athletes-Mental-Toughness/dp/1250096715