What can Starliner teach us about ‘Cockpit Culture’?
Since the announcement that Starliner will return to Earth without crew, due to a potential helium leak with the potential for an explosion, memories of the Challenger disaster have re-emerged. Tragically, the risk to the space program prevailed at that time, but on this occasion, NASA and Boeing together have decided to prioritise human life.
The Leadership and Culture Lessons of ‘Cockpit Culture’
What’s commonly known as ‘cockpit culture’ doesn’t just apply to airlines and the space industry. The fascinating ‘petrie dish’ of both tragedies and near misses, offer lessons and learnings which apply to all teams, organisations and industries.
The medical profession and recent reports from the Professional Services and Media industries, also involve actual, or near-death experiences resulting from their cultures. Such is the powerful elements of interpersonal team dynamics, which mean people would rather risk lives and livelihoods, than speak up and challenge, hierarchy and tradition.
The dynamics at play in the Tenerife and Korean Air disasters in the 70s and 80s, are not dissimilar to some of those which have contributed to Boeing’s more recent high profile safety disasters, and the Qantas’ and RBA Board reviews.
Fear and pressure are at the heart of the problem.
Lessons from ‘Near Misses’
The QF 32 and Hudson River crash landings, where no lives were lost, offer lessons just as powerful as the afore mentioned disasters.
The Australian Captain of QF32 said, “I’m going to take her higher - to give us more time to figure this out.”
Both his junior officers said ‘No!’
The Captain deferred and together they landed her, with major damage, but no loss of life.
What was it that prompted the junior officers to do what they did?
The Process of Permission
Today’s pilot training and Crew Resource Management procedures provide explicit permission to speak up and challenge the most senior person in the cockpit. It’s a process adjustment as significant as airplane flight spec updates after safety incidents, and has significantly improved airline safety.
It’s not so different in the medical sector, where there are also clear guidelines that give any member of the medical or operating team, explicit permission to speak up if they have a concern. It’s proven to reduce death and disasters such as the wrong limb being removed, (as occurred at a hospital near me only a few years ago) and increase safety and staff morale.
The Important Role of Respect
Boeing’s future global CEO is a former engineer whose goal will be to restore respect for a safety culture, while also turning a profit.
A voice that is not respected, will never be heard.
Travers-Wolf
Nor take the risk of speaking up.
For the system to work as designed, it is vital the most senior person respectfully listens and understands the point being made. This will be quite a journey for Boeing given all we know about it’s recent safety history.
Respect and permission are also moderated by pressure. And substantially so, as indicated by the denominator in the equation below.
*Performance =
(Permission + Respect) Pressure
*Source I LEAD Consulting©
Pressure can either be positive or negative and comes in many forms.
Time, cost and consequence, process, policy and people, are all forms of pressure which can create or alleviate stress and pressure.
At Boeing for example, it’s going to take considerable positive cultural pressure, to turn its $17B USD loss in 2022 and 2023, into a consistent profit and restore trust and relationships.
Which is more effective - Leadership and Culture - or the Law?
The Hayne and RBA Reviews concluded that culture and governance would be most successful in creating positive pressure and reducing deference to hierarchy and tradition.
The hope was culture would turn behaviour in the financial services sector and RBA around, contributing to their future fortunes, as it does at Pixar - which actively encourages and celebrates fast failure, Netflix - which won’t settle for ordinary performance, and Patagonia - which would rather take a risk on a mountaineer, than a sedentary Harvard Graduate.(Meyer)
Could the Starliner Decision be a Powerful Symbol of Boeing’s Future Direction?
The Micro-Mechanics of Leadership and Teams
I’ve studied the micro-mechanics of human interactions in leadership teams for years, and whilst Australia has recently legislated respect in the workplace, permission and pressure are moment-by-moment propositions.
Approaching tension or conflict as opportunities for collaboration, and aiming for mutually beneficial outcomes, rather than adversarial encounters, is an important element of safe, high performing, organisation cultures.
Engaging in conversations with curiosity, seeking to understand others’ perspectives, and uncovering blind spots through dialogue, don’t just increase permission for individuals to offer their views; they also improve respect for counter viewpoints.
What Role does Diversity Play?
Adding diversity of thought, skills, and experience to this cultural equation, reduces groupthink and has the potential to supercharge innovation and safety.
Emirates’ diverse workforce of pilots and crew from over 160 nationalities is a good example of how diversity enhances service to a global customer base. It also fosters an inclusive environment that improves communication, collaboration, and safety in the cockpit of a naturally hierarchical country culture.
BHP too, has found diversity increases safety, which has a material benefit to their bottom line.
However, injecting diversity into the equation won’t improve risk or rewards on its own. Usually, under-represented groups remain silent and leave the organisation, because of the culture.
Therefore, creating a culture which actively seeks out new ideas, treats them with respect and does not adversely apply pressure to maintain the status quo, is vital.
Just as flight crew cockpit training and multiple corporate reviews highlight, assertive and constructive communication; teamwork and training; reporting and transparency; identifying and mitigating ‘errors’, are as fundamental to a healthy ‘cockpit culture’, as they are to healthy boardrooms and teams.
Permission, respect and pressure are defining features of ‘cockpit culture’.
Source I LEAD Consulting©
And we hope Starliner makes it home safely to become the powerful symbol of Boeing’s future direction, to prioritise lives, over corporate profit.
At I LEAD Consulting we’re on a mission to simplify Diversity and Inclusion for Leaders and Teams.