Miracle Mentality with Tim Storey

Episode 7: How Personal Leadership Generates Professional Success with Black Hawk Pilot Elizabeth McCormick

Date: September 29, 2025
Guests: Tim Storey (Host), Elizabeth McCormick (Guest)

Overview

In this dynamic and deeply insightful episode, Tim Storey sits down with Elizabeth McCormick—US Army Black Hawk pilot turned renowned leadership speaker—to explore how personal leadership is the foundation of professional success. McCormick shares her journey as a pioneer in military aviation, the hard-won grit it required, and the concrete lessons on resilience, self-belief, and leadership that now inform her work with individuals and organizations. Listeners are treated to practical wisdom interwoven with personal anecdotes, actionable tools for self-leadership, and a candid discussion of grit, adversity, and the evolving nature of leadership.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Self-Belief and Going First

• Elizabeth’s Core Message:
  • Sometimes, the journey begins with “nothing but yourself”—lacking support or visible role models.
  • Self-belief isn’t just permissible, it’s necessary:

    “It’s okay to believe in yourself first. In fact, you should believe in yourself first. Nobody. Other people may not see what you see, and it’s okay.” — Elizabeth (21:03)

• Elizabeth’s Military Journey:
  • One of less than 1% of military pilots who were women at the time.
  • Overcame skepticism from instructors and peers, including gender-based prejudice and actual abuse at her first duty assignment (05:50, 06:34).

2. Cultivating Resilience & Grit

• “Playing Hurt” and Resilience:
  • Focus on what’s controllable; compartmentalize stress and worry to “show up” even on hard days.

    “Sometimes when you are hurt, the only thing you can do is show up... I had to find the strength and fortitude within myself because nobody was going to do that for me.” — Elizabeth (05:50)

  • Compartmentalization as a pilot is not just emotional, but critical for safety and performance (07:13).

• Grit as a Learned Muscle:

  > “Grit, the resilience... It’s a muscle. It’s a learned skill. It’s not like you’re born with that. We learn it by falling down and getting up again and again and again.” — Elizabeth (17:06)
  

  • Requires stepping out of the comfort zone, accepting failures, and proactively seeking opportunities.

3. Soar to Success: The Pilot Seat Metaphor

• Interactive Learning:
  • Elizabeth’s keynote technique: teaches audiences how to “fly a helicopter” as an experiential metaphor for taking the seat of one’s life (04:20).

  • “You are in the pilot seat of who you are, how you show up, what you say, what you don’t say, what you do, what you don’t do... There’s no autopilot in life.” — Elizabeth (04:20)

• Preparation and Mastery:
  • Flight school was 42 weeks long: preparation before action; mastery of instruments before being in real danger (10:44).

4. The Power of Partnership

• Co-Pilots in Military & Life:
  • Every military helicopter is crewed by two pilots; teamwork is non-negotiable.
  • Discussion of the evolution of strength and collaboration:

    “I didn’t used to be this strong person... it’s an evolution, right, of who you are and how you want to show up.” — Elizabeth (15:26)

5. Authenticity, Trust, and Leading from the Crowd

• Signature Topic — Personal Leadership
  • Stems from being her own mentor and role model in a male-dominated environment (20:31).
  • Leadership is less about traditional rank, more about relational trust and leading by example (30:28, 30:59).

  • “Now with leadership we have to cultivate more relational trust, not positional trust.” — Elizabeth (32:13)

• Adapting to Audiences:
  • Elizabeth enters the audience space, “feels” the crowd, adapts on the fly for maximum engagement and relevance (27:13, 27:55).

  • “It’s not about me. It’s not about you, Tim. It’s about how our story...is all a tool to help that audience experience, to help that audience shift.” — Elizabeth (26:32)

6. Decision, Discovery, and Inner Navigation in Leadership

• Is Purpose Decided or Discovered?:
  • Elizabeth sees it as both, but also emphasizes trusting intuition and inner navigation:

    “Before you make a decision...you have to find that awareness of yourself where you trust your instincts and you trust your vision and you trust your decisions and you trust the discovery...Without that inner navigation...is it going to be the right decision?” — Elizabeth (24:13-25:22)

• Staying True to One’s Vision:
  • Unaware she was a “pioneer” until later; her clarity of purpose buffered her against intimidation (22:17).

7. Modern Leadership: Discipline, Standards, and Meeting People Where They Are

• Old vs. Modern Leadership:
  • Old: Rank and positional authority.
  • New: Relational, participative, and values-driven (30:28, 32:13).
• Discipline & Standard-Bearing:
  • Frustration with “half effort” and declining standards in service or teamwork (33:34).
  • Leadership must train, supervise, and hold teams accountable (33:57).

• Meeting People Where They Are:

  > “We have to meet people where they are, not where we wish they were and see that potential.” — Elizabeth (36:48)
  

  • Modern employers must teach not only technical skills, but also resilience, emotional intelligence, and confidence. Employees often arrive with little coaching in these areas (37:32–38:30).

8. Hiring, Onboarding, and Organizational Excellence

• Right People, Right Roles:
  • Hiring is as critical as onboarding. Efficient companies (like Chick-Fil-A, In-N-Out) set standards early.

    “It’s not just the onboarding. It’s the hiring...Making sure the right people are in the right roles from the beginning.” — Elizabeth (39:45–40:32)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On personal leadership:

  “It’s okay to believe in yourself first... Other people may not see what you see, and it’s okay.” — Elizabeth (21:03)

• On grit:

  “Grit, the resilience...it’s a muscle. It’s a learned skill. We learn it by falling down and getting up again.” — Elizabeth (17:06)

• On the evolving nature of leadership:

  “Now with leadership we have to cultivate more relational trust, not positional trust.” — Elizabeth (32:13)

• On adapting on the fly:

  “You have to have that intuition, that awareness and that trust...on the fly, I had to adjust...” — Elizabeth (27:55)

• On hiring well:

  “It’s not just the onboarding. It’s the hiring...Making sure the right people are in the right roles from the beginning.” — Elizabeth (39:45)

• On meeting people where they are:

  “We have to meet people where they are, not where we wish they were and see that potential.” — Elizabeth (36:48)

• On trusting inner navigation:

  “I think it really, like before you make a decision...you have to find that awareness of yourself where you trust your instincts and you trust your vision...” — Elizabeth (24:13–25:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening: Personal Confidence & Going First | [00:00–00:22]
• Flight School & Facing Opposition | [00:22–01:13], [05:50–06:34]
• Becoming a Speaker & Learning from Comedians | [01:40–03:13]
• "Soar to Success" & Being in the Pilot Seat | [04:20–04:59]
• Playing Hurt; Developing Resilience | [05:50–07:57]
• Teamwork and Partnership in Aviation | [14:22–15:52]
• Developing Grit Over Time | [17:06–17:57]
• Personal Leadership, Role Models, & Pioneering | [20:31–23:25]
• Decision vs Discovery in Purpose | [24:13–25:22]
• Audience Connection & Adaptation | [26:32–28:45]
• Old-Fashioned vs Modern Leadership | [30:28–32:13]
• Holding Standards and Accountability | [33:34–33:57]
• Building Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace | [37:32–38:30]
• Hiring and Onboarding for Excellence | [39:45–41:02]
• Contacting Elizabeth & Her Work | [42:12–42:56]
• Movie Dream Casting Moment | [44:02–45:19]

Episode Tone & Style

The tone is genuine, pragmatic, and encouraging, balancing humor and vulnerability. Elizabeth’s anecdotes reveal both the hardship and the fulfillment of pursuing greatness, while Tim Storey’s facilitation draws out deeper principles, warmth, and actionable wisdom.

How to Connect with Elizabeth McCormick

• Website: pilotspeaker.com
• Key Topics: Personal leadership, leadership for organizations, sales, safety, motivation, and custom-tailored company engagements.

Final Takeaways

This episode is a call to personal leadership as the gateway to “the miraculous”—with the courage to trust your inner voice, cultivate resilience, and intentionally shape the teams, environments, and visions you steward. Lessons from both the cockpit and the stage converge in actionable wisdom for dreamers, doers, and everyday leaders looking to rise above the mundane and create extraordinary impact.