How Great Leaders Build Alignment Without Slowing Down Execution
From Leadership Launchpad by Matt Gjertsen - Better Every Day Studios
June 9, 2026 · 36 min · Episode 197
About this episode
Ian Walsh discusses the importance of velocity in leadership and how to build alignment without slowing down execution.
Most leaders talk about speed. Ian Walsh doesn’t. In this conversation, he separates speed from what actually matters in leadership: velocity, meaning speed with direction. Ian has spent his career in aerospace and defense, from flying Marine Cobra attack helicopters to leading companies through scale and transformation. Now as CEO of FDH Aero , he is operating inside an industry that is growing fast and getting more complex. He starts every new role in listen and learn mode. No immediate changes, no playbook, just understanding how the business actually works. That mindset carries through how he thinks about scaling. Fixing a business is about rebuilding capability. Scaling is about making sure the core can support growth without breaking when conditions change. A big part of his approach is how decisions move through an organization. Push them closer to the work, but keep clear guardrails and one accountable owner for each outcome. He also focuses on a few simple questions: do people know where they are going and how fast, are decisions stuck at the top, and do people actually feel accountable. At the center of it all is communication. When people are guessing, alignment…
People in this episode
Host: Matt Gjertsen
Guest: Ian Walsh
Topics covered
- leadership
- alignment
- communication
- organizational behavior
- scaling
- decision making
Keywords
- leadership
- velocity
- alignment
- communication
- decision making
- scaling
- organizational behavior
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: FDH Aero, Marine Cobra
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