When people think about careers in aviation, the conversation usually centers around performance.
Pushing through. Staying resilient. Enduring the pressure.
But one of the most misunderstood dynamics in this industry is happening quietly in the background.
Pivoting.
In my recent conversation with Sarah Kalmeta, a coach and strategist who has spent years helping professionals navigate change, one thing became clear:
We don't fully understand what it means to pivot or when it’s necessary.
The big picture
In aviation, pushing through is often seen as a strength. But not every challenge is meant to be endured. Some are meant to be reevaluated. A pivot is not failure; it is feedback. Yet most professionals are not taught how to recognize the difference between discomfort that leads to growth and misalignment that leads to burnout. That distinction changes everything.
What our guest said
Sarah shared something that reframes the entire conversation around career decisions:
“If you’re starting to think about a pivot, that in itself is a signal.”
Not a weakness.
Not a lack of resilience.
A signal.
She also highlighted the patterns that often show up before a pivot:
Losing energy for work that once excited you
Going through the motions without purpose
Withdrawing or isolating
Procrastination and increased mistakes
These are not random behaviors.
They are indicators.
Between the lines
What stayed with me most from this conversation was how deeply pivoting is tied to identity. In aviation, many of us define ourselves by what we do, so when something feels off, the instinct is to fix ourselves rather than question the system. Sarah said it directly: when people feel the need to pivot, they often think, “I must be the problem.” But that is not always true. Sometimes the environment is misaligned, the expectations are unsustainable, or the system was never built for you to thrive in the first place. Pivoting, in that context, is not giving up. It is recalibrating.
By the numbers
This conversation connects to a much larger shift happening across aviation. The industry contributes about $1.8 trillion to the U.S. economy and supports over 9 million jobs. At the same time, the demand for talent is growing fast. Boeing projects a need for more than 2.3 million new aviation professionals globally over the next 20 years.
But the challenge is not just bringing people into the industry. It is keeping them.
Workforce data shows that only about 1 in 5 employees globally are truly engaged at work. That means the majority are showing up, but not fully connected. Aviation is not immune to this. The focus has been on attracting talent, but not enough attention is being given to keeping people aligned once they are in it.
The part we do not talk about enough
Aviation has long operated in a high-performance, high-pressure environment.
And with that comes a culture where:
Mental health is often not openly discussed
Burnout is normalized
Asking for support can feel like a risk
Sarah pointed out that this is not just a cultural issue.
It is a performance issue.
When people are operating in a constant state of stress or misalignment, they are not performing at their best.
And in aviation, that matters.
The bottom line
This conversation is not just about individual career decisions. It is about how we think about growth in aviation. We celebrate resilience, but we do not always create space for reflection. We reward endurance, but we do not always recognize alignment. For those navigating their careers or considering a change, this is worth paying attention to, because the goal is not just to stay in the system. It is to find where you can actually operate at your best, and sometimes, that requires a pivot.
About the guest
Sarah Kalmeta is a former business aviation professional turned executive coach and strategic advisor. After building a career in private aviation and spending over a decade working internationally, she made a pivotal shift to focus on performance, leadership, and alignment.
Today, she works with individuals and organizations navigating change, helping them understand not just when to pivot, but how to do it in a way that supports long-term success. Her work sits at the intersection of high performance, mental health, and human behavior, with a focus on helping people operate at their best in demanding environments like aviation.
Through her coaching and advisory work, Sarah is helping reshape how professionals think about growth, resilience, and what it means to build a sustainable career.
This podcast conversation is now available on all podcast platforms. Listen now.
About AVIATE
AVIATE is hosted by me, Shaesta Waiz, the 8th woman in history to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft. Along that journey, I met people everywhere who wanted to talk about the same themes that inspired this show.
AVIATE stands for Acknowledging those in our industry, Vocalizing our experiences, Inclusion, Acting on our passions, Travel, and Evolving.
Now in its eighth season and exclusively sponsored by Atlantic Aviation, AVIATE is heard in over 100 countries.
Until next time,
Shaesta