Effective leadership in airline crews

2 Good teamwork in aircraft crews (Ginnett) & hospital teams (K-P) Aircraft crewsHospital teams

3 Good teamwork in aircraft crews (Ginner) & hospital teams (K-P) Aircraft crews Highly interdependent task Standard, rehearsed task + one-off crises Standardization – Clear roles (pilot, 1rst officer, first officer, cabin crew) – Check lists Approved SBAR communication (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) Leadership – Hierarchical (position + competence) – Pre-leg briefing – Empowering subordinates Communication – Btw shift handover Hospital teams Highly interdependent task Standard, rehearsed task + one-off crises Standardization – Clear roles e.g., surgeon, circulator, scrub nurse, anesthesia) – Check lists Approved SBAR communication pattern (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) Leadership – Hierarchical – Pre-op briefing – Empowering subordinates Communication – Btw shift handover – After procedure debrief

4 Flight Crews are Typically Groups with No History For operations & personnel reasons, crews bid for positions  Ad hoc crews Organizational shell=Standardization – Organizational context provides resources - how to behave – Each crew member brings pre-existing knowledge of own role & roles of others Good leaders supplement these shells with detailed, crew-specific expectations – Explicitly discussing how coordination should be done – “Crewisms” – Contingency planning - getting ahead of the curve

5 How does a crew come together so quickly? Organizational Shell In airline crews, much of the practice is standardized – Defined roles comprising a crew (e.g., pilot, 1rst officer, flight engineer, cabin crew chief) – Defined responsibilities for each role – Standardized training for different roles – Standardized checklists Checklists

6 Invention of the crew checklist Invented after aircraft accident during a flight competiton on 10/30/1935 at Wright Air Field – Pilot error – “Modern” aircraft placed too many memory on crew Ways to handle memory demands placed on crew from complex aircraft

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9 SOP for all crew personnel All crew members have standardized tasks Attendants – Help passengers stow their carry-ons – Insure passengers near the emergency exits will help in an emergency – Run over safety procedures show a safety video – Check every seat to make sure all passengers are buckled-in and that their seats are in the right position – Lock & arm the doors so that the emergency slides will inflate – Server food – Intervene in emergencies

10 Organizational shell

11 Team experience helps flight crews Measure performance on with complex decisions in simulator – Inexperienced crews = Just formed. Will fly together after the simulation. – Experienced crews = Formed 3 days ago. Have flown together for the past two days. Working together improves performance, with a larger effect for the more severe errors Kanki, B. G., Folk, V. G., & Irwin, C. M. (1991). Communication variations and aircrew performance. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 1(2),

12 What is it that groups learn from working together? Use Ginnett reading on flight crews as a source of hypotheses:

13 What is it that groups learn from working together? Use Ginnett reading on flight crews as a source of hypotheses: – Explicit expectations about procedures & rationale – Explicit division of labor/hierarchy – Demonstrating personal attributes – Demonstrating positive attributes  trust – Development of personal social relationships

14 What is it that groups learn from working together? Use Ginnett reading on flight crews as a source of hypotheses: – Mission – Crew-specific norms – Crew-specific routines – Planning ways to operate – Trust – Leadership structure/division of labor – Personal characteristics. – Familiarity w/ equipment – Chit-chat => social bonding

15 What is it that teams learn as they work together? Specific – Task – People – Environment General teamwork – Ways to organize – Planning – Appropriate amount of communication – Team-appropriate attitudes Learning at both the individual and group levels – Individual manager learns that person A is good with complex problems but, doesn’t finish projects on deadline – Group learning: Routines: e.g., Aviation checklists Technology: e.g., Group decides to physically organize so people who coordinate most are close by (NORAD example).

16 How does the leader help in making the crew more effective/ Again use Ginnet article as evidence

17 How does the leader help in making the crew more effective Explicitly discuss tasks that require coordination btw cockpit & cabin Define and expand crew responsibilities Explicitly set norms for crew behavior Managing the tensions over the pilot’s authority – Listen to the pilot – But speak up

18 Crews learn how to communicate More communication More explicit communication More autonomy on part of First Officer

19 Teams can improve both task work & team work Task work – Knowledge, skills & attitudes for getting for tasks done (e.g., take-off, emergency procedures) Team work – Knowledge, skills & attitudefor getting the team to operate effectively together – Knowledge: E.g., Shared mental models through cross training, Transactive memory – Skills: E.g., Monitoring & backup behavior, Team leadership through training, Appropriate information exchange – Attitudes: E.g., Mutual trust, Cohesion, Group efficacy Shuffler, M. L.,et al. (2011). There’s a Science for That Team Development Interventions in Organizations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(6),

20 Components of Team Building Interventions: (1)

21 Components of Team Building Interventions: (2)