by General (Ret.) Elyezer Shkedy, author of “Who the F*ck is Michael?!: An Israeli Air Force Chief’s Uncompromising Code for Achieving Greatness”
It is customary to think that the excellence of a group depends on the quality of its people and the resources at its disposal.
Of course, having excellent people and sufficient resources is a good thing.
These are necessary conditions, but they are not enough.
There are three additional prerequisites that are pivotal for group excellence.
The first condition is that the group truly functions as a group.
We know organizations that have great people and great resources, but their people are constantly busy justifying and explaining, in words or actions:
- Why their job or profession is the most important,
- Why the others are much less important,
- Why when something succeeds it is only because of them,
- And why when something doesn’t pan out, everyone else is to blame…
Such an organization, despite the professional quality of its personnel and despite its many resources, will not achieve collective excellence.
On the other hand, an organization that functions as a group, whose people understand the great importance of collaborating and supporting each other, who share a common goal, who are not busy amplifying why each is more significant or more important than the other, who have respect and true appreciation for the work of each member of the group — such an organization is on the right path. The paramount task of the group leader, in their messages and actions, is to make the group’s whole greater than the sum of its parts.
The second condition is that the group leader must give his or her people confidence, support, and inspiration so they can express and realize their talents and abilities, encouraging them to initiate, act, take flight, and be fearless.
The leader’s messages and statements are of immense importance. “The successes are yours, the failure is mine,” is a dictum that is always important for me to convey and to say to my people.
It’s amazing to see what it does to people — to their commitment, their energy, their willingness to charge forward, and their sense of pride.
Your greatest accomplishment as a leader is that your people feel and know that the achievement is due to the work of each and every one of them. Success is theirs.
The third condition is that the group leader believes in his or her people and their joint ability to reach the sky — and delivers this message in a variety of ways. If that doesn’t happen, they just won’t get there.
If the group leader believes in his or her people, shares a dream with them, and makes them believe in the idea, in themselves and the group, they will charge forward. There is no guarantee they’ll make it to the destination, but they are already on their way.
•••
In early 1992, when we were in the midst of establishing the HaEmek Squadron as an F-16 squadron, the Skewer Competition was held. At the time, it was considered the most significant competition among the IAF’s fighter squadrons. When I received the message detailing the launch of the competition, I was shocked to discover that our squadron had not been invited to participate.
I immediately called the head of the training department at Air Force Headquarters, who was in charge of the issue, and asked him why we weren’t participating.
“Because you are not an operational squadron,” he answered. “You’re a work in progress. You’ve only got eight planes, not even one to spare. I don’t know if you even have munitions. So how would you participate? It doesn’t make sense to me. You’ll just be embarrassed.”
I said, “I request that we be allowed to participate. We will compete against everyone, under exactly the same conditions, even though we have only eight planes and none to spare, and even though we are not yet an operational squadron. We will cope.”
He sounded skeptical but somehow agreed…
I called the squadron’s technical officer, Yitzhak Nahum, a professional and a true leader.
I told him, “Nahum, I’ve decided we will compete, despite the odds. I’m asking you to do everything, absolutely everything, to make sure every plane we have is functional. That they’ll take off, release the munitions, that everything will work one hundred percent, and that all our bombs will blow up.”
Nahum looked at me with a determined glint in his eye and said, “We’ll do what it takes.”
We prepared for the competition — both aircrew and technical personnel — like we were training for the Olympics. Years later, Nahum told me what our people in the technical section did to prepare: how they checked each and every bomb, how they aligned all the fins of the bombs with a level, how they worked on and prepared each jet as if it were the most important plane in the world, etc…
I remember how we transported our planes from the HAS (hardened aircraft shelter) to the takeoff position with our technical crew riding in vehicles alongside us. I really remember the look in their eyes, as if watching their infants, ensuring nothing bad would happen.
All the planes took off; all the air missions were carried out well; all the bombs were released, hit the targets, and exploded.
We beat the other IAF squadrons by a huge margin. The difference between us and second place was the same as between second place and last place.
This victory was thanks to all the members of the squadron, on the ground and in the air, and thanks to the character, commitment, collaboration, and deep and true partnership among them.
“I’m counting on you.
“I believe in you.
“I’m convinced of your ability.
“And I’m proud of you, as usual…”
***
*excerpted from “Who the F*ck is Michael?!: An Israeli Air Force Chief’s Uncompromising Code for Achieving Greatness” (Viva Editions, April 8, 2025)
General (Ret.) Elyezer Shkedy was the fifteenth commander of the Israeli Air Force. During his service, Shkedy commanded numerous strategic operations, including the now-famous Operation Orchard airstrike on the Syrian nuclear reactor. After retiring from active duty, Shkedy became the CEO of the Israeli flag carrier airline El Al — the largest airline in the country. Today, he volunteers as chairman and leader of over fifteen educational and social non-governmental organizations, and is the president of I Belong Israel, where he speaks about the importance of tolerance, leadership, and personal values. His new book is “Who the F*ck is Michael?!: An Israeli Air Force Chief’s Uncompromising Code for Achieving Greatness”.