What is a Business Wingman

In any public setting, the word “Wingman” brings up many assumed stereotypes, which all point to one thing (and let’s not sugarcoat this) …… your friend wants to get laid and you are the person chosen to help him or her accomplish that. It seems a bit crude but that’s just the truth. Another common meaning of a Wingman is a meaning that is synonymous with the awesomely classic movie of the 80’s, Top Gun.

1. What%is%a%Business%Wingman?%
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Art!of!the!Wingman!for!Business!is!dedicated!to!the!businesswomen!and!businessmen!
who!seek!greatness!beyond!their!own!and!find!their!successes!through!helping!others!
succeed.!The!Business!Wingman!follows!the!path!of!the!selfless!person.!
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Key!Points!
• Self!define!your!role;!it’s!different!for!everyone!
• Know!your!strengths!and!the!strengths!of!your!team!
• There!is!only!one!mantra!to!follow,!“remain!selfless”!
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In!any!public!setting,!the!word!“Wingman”!brings!up!many!assumed!stereotypes,!
which!all!point!to!one!thing!(and!let’s!not!sugarcoat!this)!……!your!friend!wants!to!
get!laid!and!you!are!the!person!chosen!to!help!him!or!her!accomplish!that.!!It!seems!
a!bit!crude!but!that’s!just!the!truth.!Another!common!meaning!of!a!Wingman!is!a!
meaning!that!is!synonymous!with!the!awesomely!classic!movie!of!the!80’s,!Top!Gun.!
Remember!Maverick!and!his!“Wingman”!Goose!along!with!Iceman!and!his!
“Wingman”!Slider?!
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!Top!Gun!(1986)!
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I!would!assume!that!in!90%!of!all!settings,!that!is!what!people!will!think!of!when!
hearing!the!term!“wingman”.!Although!misguided,!we!should!remember!that!it’s!
important!to!self!define!your!role!as!the!Wingman!and!develop!your!own!set!of!
Wingman!skills!within!your!team!or!your!group.!Don’t!let!someone!else!tell!you!who!
you!are!and!who!you!should!be,!that!is!up!to!you!to!decide!and!demonstrate.!As!
business!professionals!seeking!out!the!path!to!career!success,!let’s!just!put!that!
definition!aside!and!assume!that!we!have!no!clue!what!it!means.!And!now!that!we!
have!that!out!of!the!way,!let’s!get!down!to!business.!
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2. So,!what!is!a!Business!Wingman?!We!believe!(outside!the!standard!definitions),!that!
there!is!no!clear!answer!to!this!but!a!relative!formula!to!what!makes!a!good!
Wingman.!The!Wingman!is!usually!several!different!things!at!once!but!variable!in!
behavior!depending!on!the!situation!and!the!audience.!
The!Wingman!can!be!the!voice!of!reason.!The!Wingman!can!be!the!team!expert!in!a!
certain!field.!The!Wingman!can!be!a!quiet!listener.!The!Wingman!can!be!the!bad!guy!
who!makes!others!look!good.!The!Wingman!can!be!the!social!support!that!drives!
projects!to!fruition.!The!Wingman!can!be!honest!to!his!friends,!but!can!be!a!liar!
when!the!situation!demands!it.!
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In!short:!
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A!Wingman!is!anyone!who!selflessly!supports!others!into!and!around!any!social!or!
business!situation,!and!cares!more!for!the!team’s!welfare!and!success!than!his/her!
own.!
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That’s!the!start!of!it,!and!if!you!follow!this!one!rule!you’ll!be!fine.!
According!to!Wikipedia:!The!traditional!military!definition!of!a!"Wingman"!refers!to!
the!pattern!in!which!fighter!jets!fly.!There!is!always!a!lead!aircraft!and!another,!
which!flies!off!the!right!wing!of!and!behind!the!lead.!This!second!pilot!is!called!the!
"Wingman"!because!he!or!she!primarily!protects!the!lead!by!"watching!his!back."!
Wikipedia!(Wingman)!
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This!is!also!a!great!definition!and!I!think!the!example!being!a!traditional!military!
definition!is!well!suited!for!this;!basically!business!is!war.!!And!to!add!an!additional!
level!of!complexity!to!understanding!the!foundational!elements!of!a!Business!
Wingman,!we!will!also!reference!StrengthsFinder!2.0!by!Clifton.!Clifton!does!a!great!
job!of!defining!key!strengths!that!demonstrate!a!person’s!natural!talent.!Successful!
Business!Wingman!will!have!taken!the!time!to!know!their!strengths!and!understand!
where!those!strengths!fit!within!their!team.!
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Social%to%Business%Parallel%
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To!best!show!this!social!and!business!parallel,!below!are!5!elements!that!best!
describe!the!essence!of!the!Business!Wingman!and!what!it!takes!to!be!one.!
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1)%%%Always%focusing%on%the%big%picture%relates%to%Strategic.%
As!a!Business!Wingman,!its!important!to!take!the!Strategic!path!in!what!you!do.!It!
means!that!you!are!one!that!is!able!to!sort!through!the!clutter!and!find!the!best!
route.!!It’s!a!trait!that!is!instinctive!and!not!learned.!!You!think!differently!than!most!
but!you!always!see!the!big!picture!even!when!the!focus!is!on!something!simple.!This!
also!describes!Maverick!from!the!movie!Top!Gun.!Although!daring!and!a!loose!
cannon,!there!was!a!method!to!his!madness!and!when!time!came!for!the!final!
dogfight!scene,!Maverick!was!the!one!who!helped!his!team!win!the!battle.!He!acted!
selflessly!and!the!team!prevailed.!
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3. 2)%%%Wanting%to%be%a%part%of%a%greater%team%is%the%act%of%an%Includer.%
As!a!Wingman,!you!are!always!looking!beyond!yourself!and!your!own!success!and!
constantly!aiming!for!the!success!of!the!team.!From!the!Wikipedia!definition,!“There!
is!always!a!lead!aircraft!and!another”,!relates!to!the!Clifton!definition!of!Includer.!
Being!an!Includer!means!that!you!want!to!feel!part!of!a!group’s!philosophy!and!want!
to!always!expand!on!that!groups!thinking.!As!it’s!also!not!about!your!actions!in!that!
one!moment,!but!about!a!philosophy!around!which!you!orient!your!life.!After!
Maverick!faced!his!fears!and!understood!what!it!meant!to!be!the!best,!he!knew!that!
he!had!only!one!solution;!it!was!to!open!up!about!his!fears!and!include!his!actions!
with!the!actions!of!the!group.!By!doing!this,!Maverick’s!actions!as!a!group,!led!them!
to!win!the!dogfight!in!the!end.!
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3)%%%The%need%to%continuously%improve%is%a%trait%of%Learner.%
Because!nothing!ever!stays!the!same!(your!environment,!your!team,!your!goals,!
your!responsibilities,!your!projects,!etc),!you!must!stay!constantly!awake!and!willing!
to!learn!how!to!take!on!your!next!challenge!as!a!Wingman.!Learn!and!adapt.!As!the!
enabler,!you!are!the!key!to!team’s!success.!
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4)%%%Addiction%to%hard%work%is%similar%to%the%heart%of%an%Achiever.%
As!the!saying!goes,!“when!the!going!gets!tough,!the!Wingman!get!going”.!You!want!
the!team!to!win!and!you!know!what!type!of!work!ethic!it’s!going!to!take!to!succeed.!
No!one!ever!said!it’s!going!to!be!easy,!but!as!the!Wingman,!you’re!always!up!for!the!
challenge.!Maverick!struggled!throughout!the!movie!Top!Gun!because!he!lacked!one!
thing!that!kept!him!from!being!#1;!he!lacked!what!Iceman!had,!the!drive!to!follow!
the!path!to!success!and!achieve!a!team!victory.!But!as!Maverick!suffered!time!after!
time,!he!was!forced!to!change!and!adopt!the!strengths!needed!to!be!the!best.!And!
once!he!felt!that!sense!of!drive,!there!was!nothing!he!couldn’t!do.!
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5)%%%Looking%beyond%yourself%is%the%act%of%Selflessness.%
Although!not!a!part!of!Clifton’s!34!strengths,!the!act!of!selflessness!in!a!Wingman!
summarizes!everything!in!one!word.!It’s!the!mantra!that!drives!everything!else!that!
is!important!about!being!a!Wingman.!Maverick!too!learned!in!the!end!that!being!the!
best!wasn’t!just!about!him!(a!one!man!team);!it!was!about!the!team!and!what!the!
team!could!accomplish!together.!
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4. !Top!Gun!(1986)!
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The!evolution!of!the!average!Businessperson!to!a!Business!Wingman!follows!the!
path!of!the!Selfless!Man.!It’s!about!acting,!exhibiting,!motivating,!volunteering,!
enabling!and!going!beyond!the!needs!of!oneself!in!order!to!sustain!the!interest!of!
the!greater!team.!
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What!is!your!path!to!becoming!a!Business!Wingman?!