Dan Lowes draws on 16 years’ experience as an RAF Fighter Pilot, Top Gun graduate and as a Red Arrows Display pilot to develop, design and explain the required techniques and procedures to create a high-performance culture.
For Dan, elite performance wasn’t just a goal but a matter of life and death. He has made it his life’s mission to consistently operate at a world-class level and now enthusiastically delivers actionable concepts and strategies that can be applied across all sectors to increase and sustain elite performance.
Resonating with those in high pressure environments, Dan explains how he was able to operate in a fast-flowing, high performance environment while making split-second decisions with ambiguous information. The tools he offers will allow you to reduce your stress levels, understand personal and team vulnerabilities and allow you to make simple changes to increase professional effectiveness.
His time spent as a front-line military aviator meant Dan was constantly exposed to one of the world’s most demanding and dynamic environments, which has left him an expert in team selection, seen when he was charged with assessing the flying tests required for selection to the Red Arrows, as well as performance management, team leadership and the implementation of effective communication processes. He is also incredibly open and speaks candidly about his eventual success through failures.
Dan also emphasises the importance of debriefing, a core strength of the Red Arrows, the RAF’s aerobatic team that allows for a rapid understanding of one’s own performance as well as that of a greater team. Through tried and tested methods Dan delivers insight on how to revolutionise the learning process through innovative processes that expedite the ability to eradicate errors. Such is their reputation for debriefing that performance coaches from the All Blacks, England and Ireland rugby teams have come to watch how they do it.
Throughout his 16 years of experience, concluding as the Executive Officer of the world-famous Red Arrows, he worked in teams that would regularly tour the world operating away from their UK base, which is particularly relevant for today’s teams who are working remotely following the COVID-19 pandemic.
With 33% of the Red Arrows team being replaced each year, coupled with the pilots regularly changing roles and responsibilities to avoid the risk of complacency, Dan shares his experience of adapting to new ways of working.
The types of topics he addresses in his inspirational talks include:
- The power of effective communication
- The critical importance of debriefing
- Effective remote working
- Surviving and thriving in high-pressure environments
- Lessons learned from operating in a world-class, elite environment
- Loyalty and teamwork
- Resilience and managing stress in challenging situations
- Ambition and achieving goals
When not giving motivational talks, Dan travels the world piloting a private jet practising the lessons he has learnt during his flying career.
