A quick lesson in aerodynamics. A wing produces lift by air flowing over and below the wing surfaces at varying rates. This is, I’m sure, not particularly revealing. What aviators know, and what the general public may not fully grasp by watching an airplane take flight, is that the main process at work on a wing is the relation between the relative wind (what you feel on your hand when you stick it out of a moving car) and the direction that airplane is moving (even though you turn your hand at an angle the car still moves forward with momentum and your hand feels the resistance). This relationship is the angle of attack, as illustrated below.

The funny thing about the angle of attack, is that it doesn’t have anything to do with the direction the airplane is pointed. If you are pointed up towards the sky, but you are not decelerating, your angle of attack may only be a few degrees. You may, conversely, have the airplane in a steep dive and pull the nose back very quickly and induce what is called a stall, but your nose is still pointed at the ground and you are moving very quickly. A stall occurs when the angle of attack exceeds its critical angle, also adeptly called the critical angle of attack. (pictured below)

When manipulated appropriately, the angle of attack on a wing produces flight. When the limits and boundaries of the angle of attack are not respected, you may exceed its critical angle of attack, and stall. The good news, it is always a possibility to recover from a stalled situation. With proper knowledge and training, every stall can turn back into a climb.

Ok, but what about business?

Consider the airplane at the gate ready for departure. There is no air movement, there is no engine running, there is no possibility that the airplane will leap into the sky and take flight from a standstill. The airplane, and all its parts, are the potential of your organization. It represents the possibilities. Of taking you to far away places, to new heights, to unknown and unfamiliar territory. It can provide adventure, excitement, happiness, fear, anxiety, and even illness. However, if the airplane never moves off the gate, nothing will happen.

In order for you, your team, your company, or your organization to take flight, you must be a master of your airplane’s angle of attack. To know how to manipulate and get the most from the ship without exceeding your critical angle of attack. You must be the crewmember that propels your group forward, and in turn reaching those new heights you and your team have dreamed of. Like every competent and skilled aviator, knowledge, practice, insight, and development will be your tools to become proficient in this art.

At Angle of Attack Coaching and Consultancy, we are here to provide you with the training, support, and knowledge to unlock you and your groups fullest protentional and dreams.

Come fly with us.