Never Run Out of Altitude, Airspeed, and Ideas at the Same Time: Lessons From the Vietnam POWs

Bosses can't control many things at work. In fact, they probably can't control most things, but they can control their own reactions to unfortunate events, and they can help their direct reports feel authority over their reactions to unpleasant and unexpected changes. When hard times rear their ugly heads, the boss has to be a kind of hero, the rescuer who looks after others and helps them keep from losing their perspective and their coping resources. Becoming aware of the value of humor can increase our understanding of the powerful role mirth and laughter can play in helping us bounce back from hardships, and in turn, help others cope with adversity. In other words, humor can give us a bit of control in situations when we would otherwise feel as though we had no power over our destiny.

The Vietnam POWs:

Why do some people conquer adversity, and others are immobilized by it? The Vietnam POWs offer some answers. In 1973, 566 Vietnam POWs were repatriated to the United States. Evidence from prior captivity situations indicated a high incidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Fifty to eighty-two percent of the WWII POWs who were studied, particularly those who were imprisoned in the Pacific Theatre, have had a diagnosis of PTSD. Forty-seven to ninety percent of the Korean POWs who were studied have received a diagnosis of PTSD. Because of these staggering numbers, in 1976, the Navy started to study 138 repatriated Vietnam POW. In 1996, they reached surprising conclusions. In their 20-year follow-up, they found that only about 4% of the Vietnam prisoners of war had received a diagnosis of PTSD.

This is astonishing when comparing the Vietnam group to the other captivity situations, but it is also shocking in light of the implications of these numbers.

To give a frame of reference for understanding this, at any given time in a metropolitan area, about 1-4% of the population is walking around with PTSD because of violent crime, natural disasters, or other kinds of trauma. In other words, this group of people, who was imprisoned at least 5 years and as long as for seven or eight years, who was tortured, isolated, and beaten, had no higher incidence of PTSD than the average people in the average city in America. How can that be?

The study participants indicated that there were four main forces in the POWs' lives that helped them remain resilient: a belief in God, patriotism, a dedication to something bigger than they were, and a sense of humor. These men personified the importance of never losing altitude, airspeed, and ideas at the same time, and humor played a huge role in their ability to keep all three.

Even though their captivity indicated that they had all run out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas at the same time in a realistic sense, in a metaphorical or psychological sense, they were able to sustain all three. Great bosses are people who don't run out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas at the same time; they are people who can stay resilient in difficult times and help their direct reports do the same.

Altitude:

People want power and authority over their futures. When we perceive that our actions will make an outcome likely, we feel optimistic and secure. When we don't, we feel insecure. We feel like victims. Sometimes people stay in a victim's frame of mind after a loss or disappointment. They doubt their capacity to make their lives happen according to their own aspirations, so they wait to be rescued or blessed by good fortune. They start to feel undermined and overwhelmed; and they can become totally immobilized.

But the VPOWs weren't victims. They were certainly victimized by their captors, but they never saw themselves as victims, no matter what was done to them. They weren't victims because they took control of the few things they could control. They were told when and what and if they could eat; they were told if and when they could shower, sleep, and use the toilet. They had no say about parts of their lives that people normally take for granted. But they did have control over one thing, and that was their humor perspective, a way of looking at things that allowed them to keep their "altitude."

In a physical sense, altitude is the elevation of an object above a certain level, usually the earth. Therefore, "altitude" as it applies to leadership, is a global perspective, a realization that there is a bigger picture and no one person is the center of the universe. When bosses indicate that they have altitude, they usually exhibit these behaviors:

Vision, an