My Amazing 10 Years with Affinity: What Being an MD Has Taught Me – Authored by Iain Chalmers – Managing Director – Affinity Flying Services
I’ve had the privilege of leading Affinity Flying Training Services as Managing Director for ten years - a decade that has genuinely been one of the greatest professional experiences of my life. As employee number one, I’ve watched this company grow from just seven of us with a vision, to more than 200 talented, committed, brilliant people. Every phase of that growth has reinforced for me that leadership isn’t about control, it’s about clarity, belief, and creating an environment where people can thrive. Early on, I thought my job was to have the answers, to set direction, to decide, to know the plan. In hindsight, I must have been challenging to work with. But thanks to exceptional colleagues and the guidance of my fantastic coach, Nicola Ellwood, I’ve learned something far more powerful: organisations flourish when leaders create the conditions for others to make great decisions. It can feel slower or uncomfortable, but decisions made this way are the ones that truly ‘stick’ and strengthen the organisation.
I’ve also come to see that strategy (and the culture that supports it) is not a document. It’s a discipline and a belief. It lives in the conversations you tolerate, the trade-offs you make, and the things you choose not to pursue. Without continual reinforcement, strategy decays into activity, busy, well intentioned, but unfocused. There have been times where exciting opportunities crossed our path, but they didn’t align with our purpose or strengths. Saying ‘no’ is rarely easy, but it’s often the most strategic thing you can do.
People have always been the most rewarding and sometimes the most challenging part of leadership. I have huge respect for everyone who has contributed to Affinity over the years. Talent matters enormously, but behaviour matters even more. Skills can be trained; culture is lived. And unresolved issues never stay small - they quietly weigh on everyone else. Great leadership at every level means addressing those issues with honesty, respect, and courage. Pace is also a leadership choice. Move too slowly and you erode confidence; move too fast without alignment and you create friction and fatigue. Getting that balance right is less about process and more about judgement. And judgement gets better when you surround yourself with outstanding people who bring challenge, perspective and support.
Finally, I’ve learned that leadership can be lonely at times and that’s not a failure of the role, it’s part of it. Making decisions with incomplete information, absorbing uncertainty, and staying calm for others is the real work. You don’t eliminate that weight; you just learn to carry it better. There have been moments where I’ve agonised over a decision, then remembered the shared vision we have for Affinity and the public good it serves and I’ve gone with what I believed was right. Ten years in, I’m less convinced that leaders need all the right answers but I’m far more confident in asking the right questions, listening deeply, and empowering others to shape the future.
And that to me, is progress.