Every Sunday on the Crew Report podcast we talk to professionals in their field, discussing aviation, skills necessary not only for a pilot, but in general, for any good specialist.

In the new episode, our guest is Olesya Shelaeva - captain of the Boeing 737-800 - she told a lot about herself, about her path in aviation, and about how to become an effective leader in the aircraft cabin. Listen if you missed it ;)

In aviation, the ability to allow others to question our actions is very important. And this is true for every member of the cabin and flight crew.

People often prefer to maintain social contact and trust, rather than doubt the actions of their colleagues, for this reason we can distinguish two types of leadership:

The formal leader in the aircraft cabin is, of course, the aircraft commander, who is appointed by the flight task for the flight. The aircraft commander is responsible for safety and decision-making on board the aircraft, as well as for coordinating the crew's work. He makes the final decisions and is responsible for meeting all regulatory requirements.

An informal leader in the cabin can be any member of the crew who, for one reason or another, has earned the respect of his colleagues and has a significant influence on them. It could be another crew member, a co-pilot, or a senior flight attendant who stands out with their professionalism, communication skills, or experience. These informal leaders can make a significant contribution to the team's work, facilitating communication, improving morale, and helping the team work as a unit.

Leadership and management styles, not only in the aircraft cabin but also in life, can be divided into three main ones.

As professional pilots, we need to be able to work effectively with any member of our team. We are expected to have skilled interactions with people who may be significantly different from us, especially when we talk about different cultures.

It's impossible to become good friends with every colleague, so the key to maintaining effective interaction is distinguishing between a person's character and their behavior.

This will make it much easier to respect your colleagues. The ability to work smoothly with anyone, regardless of various differences in personalities and views, is one of the key skills for aviation professionals. We all need to keep our composure and control our emotions and behavior.

Being able to distinguish between a person and their behavior is also extremely important in situations when you want to express criticism, or when someone criticizes your actions.

How many captains are on board an aircraft? In theory, the entire plane can be filled with captains. However, there is always only one Pilot in Command (PIC) on board.

Despite the fact that the captain as the PIC bears full responsibility and has full influence on the flight, the second pilot must be able to question and express their opinion to the captain when it makes sense. This ability falls under the concept of assertiveness.

The balance between the authority of the PIC and an assertive second pilot is called the trans-cockpit authority gradient.

If the captain behaves like a dictator and the second pilot passively observes - the gradient is extremely high. On the other hand, if the captain needs approval for every action from the crew, the gradient becomes zero.

Being a leader is not just a matter of status or power, it's an opportunity to influence people and situations, achieve goals, and create value. In the context of the aircraft cabin, leadership is of particular importance due to the critical need for safety, precision, and efficiency.

Name of article: Leadership and teamwork
Release date: 6/22/2023
Acrticle author: Georgii Kurbatskii