Leadership in Aviation | Be The Best Pilot in Command 2024 14/03/24 22.

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Leadership in Aviation for Threat

and Error Management and CRM
As a part of our Threat and Error Management series of articles, we
supplement our with this article on leadership in aviation. Pilots can
sometimes be good leaders, however they also succumb to pressures like
any other human beings. We will examine different leadership styles, see
what may be appropriate for commercial pilots and the airlines.

Leadership in Aviation Means a Lot of Things to a Pilot in Command

A leader is a person whose ideas and actions influence the thoughts and
the behaviours of others. Through the use of example and persuasion,
and an understanding of the goals and desires of the group, the leader
becomes a means of change and influence.

Effective leadership in aviation and managerial skills help to achieve joint

task completion within a motivated, fully-functioning team through co-
ordination and persuasiveness.

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Explanation and Importance of Leadership in Aviation

Industry:

Leadership involves teamwork, and the quality of a leader depends on the

success of the leader’s relationship with the team. Someone exercising
leadership will provide direction to the group or team.

It is important to establish the difference between leadership, which is

acquired, and authority, which is assigned. An optimal situation exists
when the two are combined.

Skilled leadership is needed to understand and handle various situations.

Personality and attitude clashes within a crew can complicate the task of
a leader and can influence both safety and efficiency. Aircraft accident
and incident investigations have demonstrated that personality
differences influence the behaviour and performance of crew members.

Both leadership and followership are essentially skills which can be

learned although the follower role is a supporting role that does not
attempt to undermine the leader. One-upmanship would be a classic case
of inappropriate behaviour both for the leader and for the follower.

Situational Leadership

[Adapted form: K. Blanchard and Zigarmi P&D]

Leadership styles are defined using two behaviours; Directive Behaviour

and Supportive Behaviour. The supportive behaviour is closely related to
teamwork skills. This is where the two Toolbox skill sets meet.

Directive Behaviour is defined as: autocratic leadership, it is really one-

way communication. You tell the person what, when, where and how to do
something and then you closely supervise the person on the problem or
task. Supportive behaviour is defined as: Listening to people, providing

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support and encouragement for their efforts and then facilitating their
involvement in problem-solving and decision making.

What are the different types of leadership?

There are 4 Leadership styles: Directive, Coaching, Supportive, and

Delegating. In Situational Leadership an individual is exercising good
leadership when using the adequate style for the given situation in
addition the person would take into account the other team member’s
competence and commitment, regardless of the position the person is
assigned to within the crew.

Lots of things can go wrong before a flight. Effective leadership in aviation from a pilot in command can help
get through a lot of difficult tasks before the flight even leaves the ground.

List of sub skills

Authority and Assertiveness

The use of authority and assertiveness infers the ability to create a proper
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challenge and response atmosphere. The given command authority of the

Captain should be adequately balanced by assertiveness and crew
member participation. If a situation requires, decisive actions are
expected.

Providing and Maintaining Standards

Providing and maintaining standards refer to the compliance with

essential standards (SOP’s and others) for the task completion.
Supervision and intervention in the case of deviations from standards by
other crew members is also part of this skill. If the situation requires, non-
standard procedures might be necessary. Such deviations shall be
discussed and announced.

Planning and Co-ordination

Planning and co-ordination refers to applying an appropriate concept for

organized task-sharing and delegation in order to achieve top
performance and to avoid workload peaks and dips. Communication of
plans and intentions leads to coordinated activities within the whole crew.

Examples of Leadership in Aviation

Advocates own position
Takes initiative to ensure involvement and task completion
Takes command if situation requires
Motivates crew by appreciation and coaches when necessary
Ensures SOP compliance
Intervenes if task completion deviates from standards
Having consulted the crew deviates from standard procedures if
situation requires
Encourages crew participation in planning and task completion
Clearly states intentions and goals
Having consulted crew, changes plan if necessary

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Red Flags

Tasks not prioritized, resulting in pilot errors or omissions

Not assertive
Crew inputs ignored
Lack of critical knowledge
Crew members are highly critical or judgmental
Crew members fail to discuss differences of opinion
There is no direction or management of an event or situation
Crew members fail to recognize conflict

The Foolish Tradition of Silence

It is important not to confuse communication with a lack of leadership.

There is a long tradition in aviation that asking for other people’s opinions
and showing others your feelings are signs of weakness. This attitude has
been at the root of poor cockpit communication, with captains frequently
believing that to ask a crew member’s opinion was to put their leadership
in question. Instead, they thought about problems in silence and made
decisions without giving anyone insight into their thought processes.
Sometimes the results were disastrous.

The Modern Attitude of Leadership in Aviation

In today’s climate, good leadership means something very different. It

means valuing everyone’s opinion, but not believing that everyone is
correct. It also means being able to weigh different opinions in the light of
the current situation and choose among them, but not having to agree
with what everyone says. And it means making people feel that their
contributions have been important, even if their suggestions have not
been followed up.

Today, in the services and the airlines, this concept of mutual support is

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now pervasive. Fewer and fewer pilots fly with the old attitudes. Those
who do are actively discouraged from the habit and encouraged to
change.

If you are in a position of leadership in aviation, it is a sign not of

weakness, but rather of wisdom, for you to ask the opinion of all
concerned, whether it be the most educated and experienced person in
your crew or the least. Often, lack of experience gives rise to insights not
possible from experts. In fact, bringing everyone into the decision-making
process will not only help you settle on the best available decision, but
also enhance the esteem in which you are held.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister

of Transport (2020) This information has been reproduced with the
permission of Transport Canada.

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