Initiate Action: You're a Controller, Not a Monitor
We're continuing my series based on John Maxwell's book "Success Is a Choice," and today we're diving into what might be the most important chapter in the entire book — at least as it relates to air traffic control.
Last time we covered believing in yourself and firing up your passion.
Today we're talking about initiating action.
And I'll tell you right up front: this one hits close to home.
Not just as an instructor, but as a controller.
Maxwell's point in this chapter is straightforward —
Successful people don't wait for everything to be perfect before they move.
They don't wait for their fear to subside.
They take initiative.
They act.
The more I thought about that in the context of what we do as controllers, the more I realized this isn't just good leadership advice.
This is the core of the job itself.
You're a Controller, Not a Monitor
Let me make this as direct as I can: the title of the job you're pursuing is air traffic controller.
Not air traffic monitor.
Not air traffic observer.
Controller.
That one word tells you everything you need to know about what's expected of you every single time you sit down at a position.
A few weeks ago, I was talking with my manager and another controller at the tower where I work — between the three of us, we've got over 90 years of experience working airplanes — and we were discussing what happened at DCA a few months ago.
Every single one of us kept coming back to the same observation: it didn't sound like the controller was controlling the situation.
It sounded like the situation was controlling him.
You cannot let that happen.
Whether you're at the Academy, at a CTI school, at your first facility, or 30 years into your career — the moment you stop controlling the situation and start letting it control you, you're in trouble.
The way you prevent that is by taking initiative.
Constantly.
Relentlessly.
When you get to the Academy, whether it's non-radar, radar, tower, or TRACON, you have to grab each scenario by the horns and control it.
Be on constant lookout for something you can do.
What can I solve right now?
Is there something I'm missing?
What needs to happen next?
Don't wait for the scenario to tell you what to do — you tell it.
You dictate what happens and when.
That is the difference between a student who's working the problem and a student the problem is working.
I used to tell students: that scenario came in, hit you upside the head, tripped you up, knocked you down, and then sat on top of you for 40 minutes.
You have to flip that.
You smack it upside the head, trip it up, and then you sit on it for 40 minutes.
You dictate what's going to happen and when.
That's when the instructors, the evaluators, and your classmates are going to notice something genuinely different about you.
That's when you become an air traffic controller — not when you pass the Academy, but when you decide you're going to control the situation every time you walk through those lab doors.
Initiative Closes the Door on Fear
Here's something Maxwell includes in this chapter that I think is worth sitting with.
He quotes Norman Vincent Peale: "Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause of fear."
Read that again.
Inaction is not only the result of fear — it's the cause of it.
You are going to be afraid at the Academy.
I don't care who you are or where you came from.
There are going to be moments when you're scared — in the lab, heading into an eval, in the middle of a scenario that's gotten away from you. And if you're an experienced controller listening to this and you're thinking that doesn't apply to you, I'd encourage you to be honest with yourself.
If you've never scared yourself working traffic, you're not working traffic hard enough.
Fear is part of this job.
The question is what you do with it.
The answer, every single time, is the same: do something.
Act.
Take the initiative.
Because sitting still, waiting, freezing up — that's what lets the fear back in.
Action closes the door on it.
This is why initiative matters so much at the Academy specifically.
When you feel a scenario starting to slip away from you — and it will happen — the worst thing you can do is hesitate and hope things settle down on their own.
They won't.
You have to find something you can do and go do it.
Even if it's not the perfect move, doing something keeps you in the driver's seat.
Doing nothing hands the wheel to the scenario.
And remember what Maxwell also says: "Any action is better than no action at all."
When you're at the Academy, that's not permission to be reckless — it's permission to stop waiting for the perfect moment and start moving.
The Boomerang Rule
Here's something I used to tell students in the lab that I want to pass along to you, because it stuck with a lot of people.
When you start a task and don't finish it, you've just turned that task into a boomerang.
You threw it out there and walked away, but it didn't disappear — it's spinning around and it's headed right back at you.
It's going to hit you when you're in the middle of something else and least expecting it.
The way you eliminate a task is simple: you finish it.
Completely.
And then you move to the next one.
Maxwell puts it this way: "The only way to get rid of a difficult task is to do it."
There's a finite number of tasks in every scenario at the Academy.
Every single time you do one correctly and completely, it's gone.
It will never come back.
That's the mental model you need — not "how do I manage all of this?" but "how do I finish this one thing right now and put it behind me forever?"
In non-radar, for example, let's say you're working on a clearance and then an airborne aircraft calls requesting an altitude change. Now your priority has shifted — the airborne aircraft comes first, because the guy on the ground isn't going anywhere.
But here's the key: before you switch your attention, write down where you were on that clearance.
Put it on paper.
Because now you can go take care of the airborne guy, finish that task completely, and come back to exactly where you left off — without trying to hold it all in your head.
Your instructors are going to use two words with you over and over in non-radar: follow through.
Every time you hear it, this is what they mean:
End the task before you begin the next one.
That's how you stop the boomerangs.
What Stops People from Taking Initiative
Maxwell identifies a few patterns in people who struggle with initiative, and I want to run through them quickly because I've seen all of these show up at the Academy.
First, they fail to see the consequences of inaction.
At the Academy, you won't have that problem — the consequences show up immediately, right after the scenario ends.
The score sheet makes it pretty clear.
But the deeper lesson is that doing nothing always has a cost, even when it's not immediately obvious.
Second, they wait for someone else to motivate them.
I'm going to be straightforward about this: at the Academy, you need to light your own fire.
Your instructors are there to teach you, guide you, and push you — but they cannot want it for you.
That has to come from inside.
You're the one that has to walk into that lab ready to take control, every single time.
Third, they wait for the perfect moment to act.
There is no perfect moment.
There's now.
Whether that's in a scenario that's starting to get away from you, or in your preparation before you ever get to Oklahoma City — the time to act is right now.
Not tomorrow.
Not once you feel more ready.
Now.
Seven Steps to Taking More Initiative
Maxwell gives seven practical steps to developing initiative, and I want to put them into an ATC context for you.
One: Accept responsibility.
Acknowledge that you're not taking as much control of the situation as you could be. Responsibility and initiative are inseparable — you can't truly take control without owning the fact that it's yours to take.
Two: Examine why you're not taking control.
This one's worth some honest reflection. Are you afraid of being wrong? Are you waiting to be sure before you act? Understanding the reason helps you address it.
Three: Focus on the benefits of completing a task.
Here's the beautiful thing about the Academy — once you do a task correctly and completely, you never have to do that exact task again. It's behind you. Every completed task is one less thing in front of you.
Four: Share your goal with someone who will help you.
Maxwell has a quote that I love: "One is too small a number to achieve greatness."
I couldn't agree more.
You cannot get through the Academy alone, and you shouldn't try. Whether it's your classmates, a family member, a coach, or a mentor — find your people and let them help you.
One is too small a number.
Five: Break large tasks into smaller ones.
Your instructors at the Academy are actually pretty good at this — they'll walk you through each task step by step. Your job is to listen, follow the process, and practice it until those steps become automatic.
Don't try to swallow the whole thing at once.
Six: Allocate specific times to tasks you might procrastinate on.
At the Academy, this goes beyond just studying — it's about being intentional with everything.
Know when you're going to practice. Know when you're doing laundry. Know when you're sleeping. Have a schedule and stick to it, so that nothing sneaks up on you because you weren't planning.
Seven: Preparation includes doing.
Maxwell says "you must take action in order to become who you desire to be."
I'd restate that for our world: you must take control in order to become the controller you desire to be.
Desire alone won't get you there.
Wanting it isn't enough.
You have to do it — over and over, in practice, in labs, in evals, every time.
Talent Without Initiative Never Reaches Its Potential
One of the most important things Maxwell says in this entire chapter is that talent without initiative never reaches its potential.
I have watched that play out more times than I can count.
There are students who show up to Oklahoma City genuinely talented — quick minds, good instincts, sharp people. And some of them struggle not because they lack ability, but because they don't flip the switch.
They don't make the decision to grab hold of the scenario and control it.
They let the problem set the agenda instead of setting it themselves.
And then there are students who maybe aren't the most naturally gifted in the class, but they make the decision early that they are going to be a controller — not a monitor.
And you can see it.
As an instructor, when a student walks into the lab and takes ownership of that scenario from the first minute to the last, it is genuinely fun to watch. It's exactly what you want to see.
On the other hand, when a student lets the scenario dictate everything, you can see the struggle — and you want to help, but you have to wait for the debrief because that's where the real learning happens.
The decision to control — to take the initiative, to act — that's what flips the switch.
That might happen in your first week of non-radar.
It might happen deep in the radar portion.
But when it happens, everyone around you is going to notice.
Your instructors will notice.
Your evaluators will notice.
Your classmates will notice.
And you might just be able to look back later and say: "That was the moment I became an air traffic controller."
I genuinely believe that.
Not the day you pass the Academy.
Not the day you get your certification.
The day you decided, once and for all, that you were going to control the situation — every situation — and not the other way around.
Make that decision today.
If you need help figuring out how to get there, that's exactly what I'm here for.
Set up a free consultation call at sidebysideatc.com and let's talk through where you are and what needs to happen next.
Because you don't have to navigate this journey alone. Let's do it side by side.
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If you are heading to the Academy in the next few months, I put together a structured 90-day preparation blueprint that walks you through exactly what to focus on each month before you go. It's designed to help reduce shock and build confidence before day one. You can download it at: sidebysideatc.com/page/blueprint .
I also have a video where I explain the different things that are on the enroute Non-Radar Map. You can get that video at: sidebysideatc.com/page/map-video .
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If you are already in the enroute radar portion of the Academy and feeling a little behind or lost, I have a 72-Hour Radar Recovery Plan that will help you get past those feelings and start building confidence. You can download that at : sidebysideatc.com/page/72-hourplan .
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