Phil Bayman is a former RAF fighter pilot with extensive combat experience, who later became an instructor and performance coach for 100’s of the world’s finest fighter pilots, including many from the world-famous Red Arrows. He now works cross-sector to embed Human-Performance skills and habits to improve productivity and safety whilst making everyone's day more straightforward and pleasant.
He started his career by studying Biochemistry at Brasenose College, Oxford, before joining the RAF and qualifying as a Tornado pilot. After seeing active service in several operational theatres, Phil moved to a training role, flying the Hawk at the RAF's fighter pilot academy. Here Phil helped new pilots develop the skills necessary to survive and succeed in hostile environments.
As Phil puts it, this required a mindset change from flying your aircraft to operating a weapons platform as part of a complex network in a volatile environment. He specialises in designing and implementing change programmes that embed effective risk management in complex, regulated, and dynamic industry across industry sectors.
In the mid-2000s, Phil helped to introduce performance coaching techniques derived from premier league football coaches into flying training, moving from a 'teacher-centric' to a 'learner-centric' mindset. The methodology and framework improved the course pass rate beyond the original 70%, enhancing learner experience and engagement.
One of Phil's interests is people and performance, identifying how simple and often imperceivable changes in context and relationships can produce measurable benefits to individuals and organisations.
We will be discussing the training process for fighter pilots, and I'll welcome your thoughts on your experience of how this compares to your experience training as a surgeon.
Are the skills similar? Are they different? We occasionally hear: "world-class surgeons are born with special skills", referencing traits that only certain people possess – it this true?
Flying the aircraft takes up maybe 2% of our cognitive space, a little more when getting airborne and landing. We will be exploring the ‘theatre of operations’ and the ‘operations in theatre’.