Serving twenty-four years as a NASA astronaut, Cady Coleman recently shared her profound learnings, how she stayed focused, managed stress and navigated working in cross-cultural teams in HBR podcast. Although these lessons have come from an astronaut, but they are significant lessons for SME leaders, owners and managers.
Dream on, be positive
As cliché as it may sound, Coleman thrived by keeping a positive outlook. In the podcast, she discussed having to encounter emergency simulations, drilling and remembering to keep curious about all that she did before the big space mission.
If we compare going to space with leading a business; think about what could possibly go wrong when you change the business model, sign a deal or tap into a new market. Cady Coleman reminds us to prepare ourselves with all possible outcomes with a positive mindset.
Cultivate a work culture where mistakes are shared
Coleman shared how NASA’s culture has shaped her views and how she approaches complex challenges at work. Owning up to one’s mistakes and sharing were important parts of Coleman’s growth journey at NASA.
It can undeniably hard to admit a mistake, but it also adds a pivotal value in overall work culture – she said, share your mistakes so all can learn from them.
This could bring an enormous amount of possible solutions, shared lessons and a sense of community that, we are in it together. It gives a sense of assurance that it is absolutely humane to go wrong sometimes; making mistakes and sharing them are critical components of a growth curve.
Create diverse cultural teams at the workplace
Coleman talked about cross-cultural team dynamics and the challenges she faced working with a diverse and international crew. She acknowledged that, although it was challenging but it was also a humbling experience to fully understand that we all bring different skill sets to the table. The main purpose was to be trained for the big mission and be fully equipped to tackle uncertainties.
This is how all organisations, big or small, should work together and create a diverse set of teams.
The unique perspective of interconnectedness through the lens of an astronaut, who was literally watching the earth, from space, affirms we are more alike than different and that we can work around differences if we continue to innovate and create.
The multi-cultural teams create an air of trust and space for innovation which goes a long way and to be a good business leader is to have a spaceship view, while also being immersed in day to day operations of your earth (business).
To learn more about how to scale your small business a up, lead high-performing and engaged workforce, manage operations and finances efficiently as a SME leader, join our next cohort: Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com)