Individual Differences and Interpersonal Relationships — Page 242, Lesson 392

Let’s start with the big idea: the purpose of having a crew in the first place. It’s not just to have extra bodies in the cockpit — the purpose is to reduce workload by enabling tasks to be shared. That’s the core reason we operate with more than one pilot. But sharing tasks only works if the crew coordinates efficiently, and that coordination depends on two things: effective communications and cooperation. Every crew member must be sensitive to individual needs — the needs of each person on the team — as well as the needs of the group as a whole. Now, coordination is not the same in every phase of a pilot’s career. There’s a clear difference between the flight training phase and commercial flight operations. During training, we expect errors — that’s part of developing skills. The monitoring and cross-checking function is there to catch those expected mistakes and learn from them. But in commercial flight operations, the monitoring and cross-checking function serves a different purpose: it’s a confirmation of expected and mutually understood actions. In other words, we’re not looking for errors because we assume they’ll be there; we’re confirming that what we planned and agreed upon is actually happening correctly. Let’s move to improving group decision making. There are general guidelines that can help a crew make better decisions together. I’ll walk through each one. First, avoid arguing for your personal judgements. Instead, approach the task on the basis of logic. That means you don’t defend your own idea just because it’s yours — you evaluate it based on reasoning. Second, avoid changing your mind only in order to reach agreement or avoid conflict. Support only solutions with which you are able to agree. Don’t give in just to keep the peace; if you don’t genuinely agree, say so. Third, avoid conflict-reducing techniques such as a majority vote or a middle course strategy. A majority vote can shut down discussion before the best idea emerges, and a middle course — splitting the difference — often pleases no one and produces a weaker solution. Fourth, view differences of opinion as helpful rather than a hindrance in decision making. Disagreement is not a problem; it’s a resource. When a group uses these guidelines, it will produce a better performance than another group not utilizing them. Now, let’s look at two key training concepts: Line-Oriented Flying Training, or LOFT, and Crew Resource Management, or CRM. Both of these seek to improve the quality of crew performances rather than individual achievement. The focus is on how the team works together, not on how each person performs alone. A central tool in this training is the use of video tapes to record realistic simulation exercises. This provides crew members with what’s called ‘behavioural feedback’. That means they can watch themselves on playback and observe how they actually come across to others. And here’s the key insight: they may realise that the way they present themselves to other people may be different from the way they intended. So their self-image — how they think they appear — becomes more consistent with the image that others have of them. That alignment is valuable for effective teamwork. In these exercises, it can be helpful if the participants ‘role play’ or act in a certain way. For example, you might have a timid first officer who needs to be more assertive. In a benign environment — a safe, simulated setting — that first officer can practise being assertive. The goal is for him to realise that he is capable of behaving that way, and to show him that most captains will respond favourably to being given a clear statement of his ideas. On the other side, it may also be useful to require the authoritarian captain to actively solicit advice and ideas from other crew members. This demonstrates to that captain that doing so will not be interpreted as a sign of weakness. Instead, it helps in consolidation of the crew — bringing the team together — and leads to better decision making. So the whole idea behind CRM and LOFT is to use realistic practice and honest feedback to shape behaviour, so that every crew member can contribute effectively, and the captain can lead in a way that draws on the full resources of the team.