Book Review: Fearless Leadership

This book was given to me by my C12 peer, Buddy; thanks! Ms. Lohrenz was the first female F-14 Tomcat Fighter in the US Navy, having flown missions worldwide as a combat-mission-ready pilot. There are quite a few ‘firsts’ here, and in the book, she talks about the importance of earning these opportunities, pursuing them relentlessly and respectfully.

Ms. Lohrenz walks us through her initial interest in flying, her family’s background in serving in the military, and her desire to follow that path, as well. It’s a fascinating look into the process including the intense pressure during training, the need to winnow out those who would not be able to take the pressure and risk, and her personal check-ins as she felt challenged and needed to decide how to proceed, if to proceed!

At the end of the book, she shares the controversy surrounding her Naval position and how this ultimately ended. The middle of the book covers the application of the Navy principles and the many leadership lessons she learned through her training and experience as a fight-er pilot. An interesting application for us is her observations about the 19 and 20-year-olds rotating in and out of the carrier ships and how her life and many others’ counted on these young people getting things right! The importance of team, training, and more.

There are many practical applications to business and the background is very interesting. The importance of debriefing really caught my eye. Highly Recommended – CMW