Leadership for Future Aviators

Overall, 2012 was a fair year for the aviation industry. The large aircraft manufacturers and their operators were busy. Yet, medium and small aircraft manufacturers and their operators were not as prosperous. In some cases, aviation companies continue to struggle from the economic downturn of 2009. In all cases, I’m very optimistic of 2013 for the aviation industry.

As I reflect over the last year, I ask myself one question: why are some aviation companies and flight operations successful and others are not? Being a business owner for more than 20 years, I realize there are many factors that can effect a company’s business success. Some effects are external, where we have no control, and some are self-generated.

We, at Global Jet Services, had another record year. Our sales revenue was the best ever with continued growth in company personnel and market place. Are we lucky? Yes, there may be some luck and good timing involved. However, we contribute the majority of our success to our leadership and management practices. Excellent leadership and management practices will make all aviation companies and flight operations successful. I truly believe this. Here are some of our top leadership and management practices we routinely use in our operation:

• Take care of the people and they will take care of the business

In aviation, we tend to make the aircraft operation priority one. I hear all the time that, “All we care about is getting the aircraft out on time!” Yes, it is important to do our job but what do we say to our people? They are not important?

The number one goal of our company is “We want every employee to be happy with their personal life.” We truly practice this. We believe that if employees are happy at home, they will be happy at work - and they are.

When we believe in people, the people are motivated and ultimately, they will get the job done better.

• Plan, Plan and Plan

How do you have a successful flight? You make a detailed flight plan, you plan for unscheduled maintenance arrangements at other locations, you plan for dispatch of parts and maintenance personnel and you plan maintenance inspection requirements and much more.

Overall, I find that most maintenance personnel do a very good job with maintenance planning. However, when it comes to business, management or personnel planning, not so. Good planning makes everyone successful. Be sure to have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C in all situations. We need contingencies. Nothing goes perfectly according to the initial plan. So I recommend practice planning in every aspect of our lives; both professional and personal.

• Always have precise deadlines

Good planning alone will not make you successful unless every plan has precise deadlines. Deadlines will allow us to have a clear vision of our job completion. It is also a tool for making commitments to us and others. Strong leaders make decisions and commitments. If you decide that the plan is right for you set a deadline and just do it. Don’t procrastinate.

• Be flexible

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that nothing goes perfectly according to plan, and it often takes longer than planned. This is where we need to have backup plans and flexibility. When we have multiple plans and flexibility, we can address issues calmly without pressure or stress.

Ultimately, we will make better decisions. When we are flexible, we also tend to look at things with a “big picture” concept instead of a tunnel vision concept.

Leadership and Management

The terms leadership and management are closely tied. Most people may think both skills are the same. However, the reality is that leadership skills and management skills are totally different sets of skills. The differences are:

Leadership skills come from our hearts. Great leadership inspires people and promotes vision, creativity and change.

Management skills come from our minds. Because these skills come from the mind with organizational structure, decisions are made without emotions. It is a logical thinking process and it promotes stability, order, and problem solving within structure.

Therefore, in order to be a complete leader, you must enhance both leadership and management skills.

How to Motivate Employees

In recent years, many employers have conducted employee surveys to ask what they want and expect from their jobs, and the degree of importance of those things. These employees’ supervisors were also asked what they thought was important to the people they supervised.

Employees generally rated the human aspect of their jobs as being far more important than the tangible, monetary factors. The top three motivators people wanted were:

1. Full appreciation of work done

2. Feeling of being included

3. Help with personal problems

A technician wanted to be told that the department management appreciated the time and effort he put into organizing an upcoming inspection. A technician appreciated that his boss got him involved in making decisions about department issues. Another technician expected his supervisor to “hear him out” and express empathy on his problems with his family.

Before the survey, many supervisors thought that “good wages” and “job security” were most important to their people. They also minimized the human aspect of earning a living. Have you ever thought about how boring the job can be to certain technicians and how you might make it more interesting for them?

The surveys show that we are often incorrect in our assumptions of what we think is important to another person. They also show us that a problem exists when a supervisor thinks the job is more important than the people.

Can Technicians Become Good Leaders and Managers?

In order to become good managers and leaders, we must make more effort toward management training, be more aware of daily self-improvement opportunities, conduct more discussions about management with others, and use good leadership and management techniques daily.

It is true to a certain degree that leaders are born. Some people seem to have a natural talent to lead others. However, everyone can become a leader in their own field if they want to. It simply takes effort and self-improvement. We must be aware of our surroundings, people contacts, and opportunities at all times, and utilize the skills to better ourselves.

You will find that every great manager and leader has high self-esteem. Having a positive attitude and enthusiasm is a must for managers and it is contagious. Increasing our self-esteem will improve relationships at both work and home. By feeling good about ourselves, we will eliminate many management problems while getting respect from others.

We will be a better and happier person because of it, too.

By building good skills in leadership and management, we can impact our company success, employee success, and all the people around us positively. What a great feeling that is!

J.D. McHenry is the president of Global Jet Services. He has been involved in numerous aviation maintenance and flight operation programs for more than 31 years. His background includes aircraft manufacturer, corporate flight operations, FAR 91 & 135 operations, aircraft management, repair stations and fixed-base operation. He holds an A&P, IA and doctorate of business management. For more information, visit www.GlobalJetServices.com.