What Biotech Leaders Can Learn From The Cockpit
By Patrick Mooney
In my free time, I’m a pilot. I have my instrument rating, and I just earned my commercial pilot license, not because I plan to fly for the airlines, but because I want to be as good as the men and women up front. For me, flying is more than a hobby; it’s a discipline that has shaped my perspective on leadership.
The longer I’ve led biotech companies, the more I see the parallels between the cockpit and the C-suite. Both operate in high-stakes environments where conditions can change in an instant. Whether you’re navigating market turbulence or the operational growing pains of a small company, success depends on your ability to stay focused on the destination, trust your instruments, and rely on the crew around you. In our industry, while we aren’t flying an actual machine, we are stewarding a mission to deliver life-changing therapies to patients. The following principles I’ve gleaned from my experience in the cockpit have been my flight plan for navigating the complexities of biotech leadership and keeping our team relentlessly focused on our mission.
Unwavering Focus On The Goal
Pilots are trained to “fly the airplane,” meaning focus on the fundamentals — airspeed, altitude, and heading. Things can change quickly, whether it be turbulence, malfunctions or inflight emergencies. When things go wrong, we are trained to fly the airplane first, then navigate, and finally communicate. In other words: stay calm, do the most important things first, trust your instruments, and communicate your needs clearly to team supporting the mission.
The same can be said for biotech. Our industry is constantly in flux, with shifting market dynamics, an evolving regulatory landscape, and the inherent uncertainties of clinical development. It’s easy to get distracted by the “weather” — the short-term market fluctuations or the shifting winds of investor sentiment. But great leaders know how to tune out the noise and focus on the mission. At Spyglass Pharma, we have a clear destination: to become the premier sustained drug-delivery company in ophthalmology. But reaching that destination requires more than just a flight plan; it requires a powerful engine. For us, that engine is our rich, innovative pipeline and the world-class talent we've brought aboard to execute it. To keep this team on course, we rely on instruments that foster clarity: clear goals, all-hands updates, and a transparent culture that constantly communicates our progress.
This focus permits forward momentum even when others are grounded. I learned early in my career that if you believe in your mission, you pursue it with conviction.
I often refer to our team’s ability to focus as their “superpower.” When challenges inevitably arise, the team instinctively rallies to dissect the problem and solve it together. Over my five years with SpyGlass Pharma, I’ve seen them execute like this time and again, and I’m always left proud and amazed by their shared commitment to the mission.
Disciplined Execution Drives Innovation
Success in the cockpit is rarely about a single heroic moment of stick-and-rudder skill. It’s the accumulation of disciplined actions, performed consistently and methodically. In aviation, disciplined processes and checklists don’t stifle pilots; they create the consistency and reliability needed to ensure procedures are followed that ensure the safety and success of the mission.
Building a biotech company follows the same principle. Breakthroughs are not born from genius alone; they are the result of that genius being channeled through disciplined execution. It’s about grinding it out, day after day. As you scale an organization from a handful of people to nearly a hundred, you can’t rely on individual heroics. You need robust systems and processes that empower the entire team to execute with precision. Whether it’s enrolling patients for a pivotal trial or preparing for a public offering, our success is built on a foundation of disciplined execution. We have to stay on time and do the good work, and that comes from a shared ethos of getting it done.
Our aspiration to take SpyGlass Pharma public was carefully planned years in advance, but its success came down to diligent, weekly execution over the final 12 months. In our world, an integrated development plan is the master checklist — a highly orchestrated path where every workstream must run on time to ensure we reach the next milestone safely.
Lead From The Trenches
The most effective leaders don’t lead from an ivory tower; they are in the trenches. In aviation, a pilot’s authority isn’t just about the stripes on their uniform — it’s earned, through thousands of hours of experience in the air in all kinds of conditions. You can’t lead in the cockpit if you don’t understand the environment firsthand.
I’ve spent nearly my entire career in ophthalmology, starting as a sales rep carrying a bag. Those years on the road were my flight training. I saw firsthand the challenges older patients faced using eye drops regularly — dexterity issues, memory problems, and the sheer frustration of the drops missing their eye. I sat with doctors who would pull me into an exam lane to show me a patient’s experience. That proximity to the problem is what has fueled my conviction for more than two decades. It’s a conviction that comes from seeing many patients’ struggles firsthand, which led to my belief that there has to be a better way. The ideas for our most meaningful innovations don’t come from a sterile laboratory or boardroom; they come from a deep understanding of the patients’ realities. For leaders, there is no substitute for getting out in the field and staying close to the customer.
Early in my career, I relentlessly pitched my leadership team to commit significant research and development dollars toward new surgical technologies. The initial feedback I received was harsh; I was practically laughed out of a few meetings. But I quickly realized that their resistance stemmed from a disconnect: they were far removed from the daily struggles of patients and their doctors. My time in the field gave me the conviction to keep pushing. I never forgot that lesson. Today, in the SpyGlass office, our guiding ethos is written on the wall in large, bold letters: “We Create for Patients.”
Empower An Adaptable, World-Class Crew
No pilot flies alone. Even in a single-seat aircraft, you are in constant communication with air traffic control and other traffic in the pattern, supported by maintenance crews on the ground, and guided by the engineers who designed the plane. True leadership is about assembling a world-class team and creating an environment where they can perform at their best.
I’ve aspired to build a company with our co-founders for over 15 years, ever since we first worked together. When you meet people who are truly special, you find a way to work with them. Together, we’re building Spyglass Pharma to change the game for the long haul. That shared mission is our greatest strength. As a leader, my job is to foster a culture where everyone feels like they are part of something big and are empowered to contribute. That means leaving titles at the door, encouraging open and candid debate, and making sure everyone has a line of sight to the destination. My goal is to create an environment where people feel safe enough to ask thorny questions. Shared conviction is what sustains an organization through the inevitable challenges of innovation.
The stakes in biotech are incredibly high, but like flying, it is a team sport. And when you have the right crew, you can navigate any weather and reach destinations you could never reach alone.
About The Author:
Patrick Mooney is the CEO of SpyGlass Pharma and a seasoned ophthalmology executive recognized for driving global commercial launch excellence and building high-performing teams.