Today’s guest believes that there’s an astronaut in everyone. Sally J. Tindall is an airline pilot, human factors researcher, and candidate astronaut. She joins us in conversation to share an insider’s perspective on the workings of AdvancingX, where founder Eduardo Diaz has pioneered a project to optimize team design and efficiency for space travel. Listening in, you’ll hear about Sally’s philosophies that being yourself is the only way to make a significant impact on the world and that surrounding yourself with the right people for you is the best way to enhance your contribution. We touch on a plethora of topics, from behind-the-scenes missions at AdvancingX and testing the efficacy of the team you’ve built, to resolving conflict in space, and common problems that astronauts experience during their trips beyond our planet. Tune in today to hear all this and more!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Welcoming Sally J. Tindall to today’s conversation. [06:52]
- Why Sally never speaks on behalf of people and what makes her different. [08:07]
- How owning being different improves your life. [10:16]
- Proof of Sally’s belief that being yourself makes you better. [11:15]
- How Sally has ended up among some of the most talented people in the world. [12:53]
- What makes a great team leader. [14:50]
- Sally’s experience of joining AdvancingX. [17:00]
- What it’s like to join AdvancingX today. [18:41]
- A regular question Sally is asked: is Ed a real person? [19:30]
- Behind the scenes at AdvancingX. [20:40]
- What AdvancingX is and what it’s accomplishing. [22:45]
- Testing the efficacy of the team you have built. [27:45]
- The main objective of the work they do: to find the village for you. [30:30]
- Resolving conflict in space. [31:47]
- Navigating the emotional aspect of adding and subtracting from teams. [34:31]
- The likelihood of working with the same team on more than one mission. [37:07]
- Interpersonal and psychological problems that arise on space missions. [39:12]
- Physical and psychological characteristics that you need to be able to have a career in space. [42:12]
- Buzz Aldrin’s influence on neutral buoyancy training. [44:18]
- How AdvancingX is making space accessible to everyone. [47:52]
- Why Sally considers her work to be more about the mind than the body. [48:40]
- The resilient thread that runs through every person who enters the program. [51:00]
- How Sally would pick an astronaut out of a crowd. [52:54]
- How connecting to your inner child makes you better at your job. [56:30]
- The underlying mission of AdvancingX. [01:00:53]
- Sally’s advice for young people. [01:09:35]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: