Gina Longo, a former airline captain and flight instructor, has accumulated an impressive résumé, flying as pilot in command on over 3,000 flights and safely carrying some 75,000 passengers. As a U.S. Air Force brat and German Shepherd enthusiast, she playfully answers the question, "Where are you from?" with, "It depends." Today, through her company Gina Longo Consulting , she takes her extensive aviation leadership experience into the corporate world, where she specializes in helping organizations reduce employee turnover by improving leadership skills.
Gina's unexpected journey from airline captain to leadership trainer started in an unusual place: a horse farm. When her airline-pilot father promised that becoming a pilot would help her fulfill her lifelong dream of owning a horse, she took to the sky.
But after ten successful years as an airline pilot -- with eight as captain -- Gina was ready to go after another long-held dream: to live (and maybe even own a horse) in the UK. With this in mind, she accepted a job as a simulator instructor in Farnborough, just south of London. Unfortunately, after nearly two years there, an economic downturn cost Gina her career.
Not one to give up easily, she followed another dream and spent the next three years living in a touring caravan and traveling the UK with her two German Shepherds. After returning to the United States and exploring various opportunities, Gina discovered her passion for leadership training. Her experience as an instructor and captain provided her with invaluable leadership skills in high-stakes, high-pressure situations, and when a business coach encouraged her to pursue leadership training, she established Gina Longo Consulting.
While she primarily focuses on working with corporations, Gina also enjoys working with individuals, especially women who can feel constrained by societal expectations. In fact, her six-month mentorship program, the Calmfident Leadership® System, was inspired by three women she met during her travels.
As a tribute to them, Gina designed her system to help women build confidence and independence, empowering them to chase their dreams and ambitions. Although she doesn't know what became of the three women who inspired her, Gina hopes they found the courage to break free from their limitations and realize their full potential.
Drawing from her experience as an airline Crew Resource Management instructor, Gina applies the skills she acquired in the aviation industry to leadership training in the corporate world. Crew Resource Management, or CRM, which emphasizes effective communication, decision-making, and other skills vital for safe flight operations, was developed in the early 1980s in response to a series of plane crashes involving fully-functional aircraft. Investigations revealed that these crashes resulted from poor communication on the flight deck, often due to an imbalanced power structure. To address this issue, airlines implemented CRM, which is now mandated by the FAA.
Gina believes that the skills taught in CRM translate directly to the business world, where clear communication, teamwork, and sound decision-making are essential for success. Initially designed for airline pilots, the program has since expanded to include flight attendants, dispatchers, maintenance personnel, and ground staff, acknowledging the importance of incorporating all roles into the training process.
The holistic approach of the aviation industry, which emphasizes using every available resource to achieve safe flight, can be applied in other organizations to help them operate more efficiently and effectively. By fostering clear communication and collaboration across all levels and departments, organizations can make better decisions and get better results.
Gina Longo Consulting has two primary components. The first is the six-month Calmfident Leadership® System, which targets individuals, helping them become better leaders by fostering their independence. The second component, the Calmfident Leadership® Training & Development Program, focuses on businesses and corporations. This program encompasses the entire talent development cycle, including hiring, creating effective managers, coaching, and guiding employees through their journey from new hires to leaders.
One of Gina's favorite topics to explore is culture, as people from different cultures communicate differently. With the increasing globalization of businesses, understanding and navigating these cultural differences are crucial for effective communication. Gina wants to help managers and leaders understand and adapt to these differences so they can improve communication and strengthen relationships within their teams.
As she points out, some cultures may communicate more straightforwardly, while others rely more on non-verbal cues and body language. Gina advises leaders to research the cultural backgrounds of their employees to gain insight into potential communication styles and preferences. By understanding these differences, leaders can better interpret their employees' reactions, body language, and unspoken messages, leading to more effective communication overall.
As a workshop training facilitator, Gina once captivated her participants by using photos of her German Shepherds showcasing various expressions and body language. She then asked participants to decode the dogs' messages and relate those emotions to human behavior. This engaging exercise aligned with Gina's passion for training dogs and interpreting their body language, and it helped participants grasp the significance of nonverbal communication.
Her passion for her German Shepherds has significantly influenced Gina's life and work. Each of her rescue dogs, Jerry Lee and Holly, had a unique personality that taught her invaluable lessons about training, leadership, and the importance of adapting to different needs. Jerry Lee, who became a therapy dog, demonstrated the importance of maintaining a calm, confident energy, a lesson Gina also applied to her role as a pilot. Holly's bold and energetic nature pushed Gina to refine her adaptive approach further.
She believes that by learning to interpret dogs' behaviors, we can gain valuable insights into human behavior, as there can be similarities in body language and expressions between the two species. Overall, Gina's passion for both CRM and her German Shepherds has helped shape her leadership and training approach, enabling her to offer unique insights and experiences to her clients.
Gina considers empathy, compassion, and strong communication skills to be crucial qualities for successful leaders. She encourages leaders to understand their employees' individual situations, offering support while still maintaining a professional environment. She emphasizes the importance of being able to write and speak clearly, and she recommends seeking help to improve these skills when needed. In her opinion, relying too much on technology can lead to the loss of not only these two vital skills, but also the ability to maintain spatial orientation or improve critical thinking.
Gina advises new leaders to focus on communication skills and to remember their experiences before they were in leadership positions. By staying connected to their team members and empathizing with them, leaders can be more effective and deliver better results.
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