Team Building
Yes, Christensen is a newcomer to the helicopter industry, having started at Vita Inclinata in May of this year. Yet, he comes to our industry with a longtime leadership philosophy he’s developed over his decades that harken back to his college days when he played linebacker for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes under Coach Hayden Fry. (His college football career was cut short in his sophomore year due to a shoulder injury, but he kept his full-ride scholarship.) Christensen extols the value of teamwork. “My leadership style comes down to coaching. I’ve always been a part of teams and prefer to not be the sole performer up on the high-wire by myself; I’ve done that as a last resort, but teams that mesh together are stronger than individuals. My goal is to coach each member of my team to perform within the team while growing as individuals. Yes, I want them to grow their individual careers, but the best way to advance is as part of their team. If the team wins, then every person on the team wins. I have a good team here, made up of individuals that range from those early in their careers to more experienced players. Watching them grow and
work together is great,” he says, but Christensen also shares an opinion on an approach that is not so great. “The ‘my way or the door’ authoritarian style from the 1970s-80s simply doesn’t work anymore because there are too many hiring options these days. If you don’t have a collaborative approach, you’re never going to get good feedback and input from your team.”
In addition to this team-building collaborative approach, Christensen also learned from his early career in his father’s business. The senior Christensen started out selling checks to banks and other paper-related products. After those office days working for “Dunder Mifflin,” he grew his own office-supply business in the Midwest. Christensen absorbed this entrepreneurial sales spirit from his dad. “I learned from him how to take care of a customer the right way and not to discard old technology, but instead adapt it to new technology.” Christensen also found a role model in the Kansas City office. He says, “Janice Bartels was a fantastic mentor for me early in my career. We all were on 100% sales commission; there was no safety net. I saw how she established and maintained really great communication with customers.”
Die-hard Broncos fans! 16 July/Aug 2023
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