DOING THE RIGHT THING RIGHT
By Michaela Meiswinkel | Read time 5 mins | March 2021 | Issue 2
Ticking all the boxes seems like a win when in fact, you could be nearing a very big loss
If there ever was a mantra for you to have ready and repeat to yourself often when doing anything, it is this: Are you doing the right thing right?
What is considered to be the most rudimentary form of learning is known as rote learning. It is when a person learns something by heart without the understanding of what that gizmo actually is, to know the basics, but nothing more. Have you ever crammed for an exam and soon after forgotten the info? Do you regurgitate aviation jargon you’ve picked up but couldn’t really explain? Sat in a course and assumed to be now and forever qualified? The last point for me is the pinnacle of why I started my business KIS and what ‘zests’ me to be up at 5am typing this blog!
Applying to be, or choosing another for the role of a Flight Safety Officer, is so much more than filling that position required by law. I’ve definitely been there — asked to fill the gap of a departing FSO and which I took —not only because I wanted a week off doing something different, but also because flying through those open book tests came with free lunches! Anyway, on that week down in Cape Town, a rare thing happened(definitely not the coolest to admit) but I got bit by the safety bug.
I returned to work… and I worked! Putting in the research, making errors, leaning on my mentors. It paid off, because only then was I able to do my job right, to progress beyond merely fulfilling the company’s obligation to appoint a FSO.
And it made all the difference.
When you’re headed for a loss…
My 85 year-old and German-born great-aunt once said to me that everything in life needs to be taught. How to play an instrument, how to have good work ethic, even how to love. Managing is no different yet we keep falling into the trap of what is known as “work-as-imagined versus work-as-done.” This is when you assume how everyone is doing their job according to how you perceive it in your mind: that every pilot is following the SOP’s, that supervisors will conduct audits and fix issues, that everyone staring at their screens is not on Facebook, right…
By ticking all the boxes in a checklist such as appointing personnel, formulating manuals, documenting job descriptions, buying the goods, we believe we have done all the right things to ensure a good, safe operation yet we continue to encounter problems, confront an endless stream of reports, and try to deal positively and fairly with underperforming workers. How then do we ensure that our efforts do not result in loss?
Half of the answer is very much in your control—unfortunately the other half isn’t.
“…everything in life needs to be taught. How to play an instrument, how to have good work ethic, even how to love. Managing is no different…”
Floor Time
I was once in a situation where a department with clearly set out duties and outcomes was failing. It had the team, the equipment, the rosters, supervisors and managers — yet everyday a complaint would arise regarding work not being done and impacting other areas of the operation. The way I dealt with the reports was to spend “time on the floor” and so for a week I became a part of this team. I accompanied supervisors, shared in the workload, became part of the daily banter and also heard their concerns. What I found to be the issues was truly not at all what I was expecting. To be honest, I was ready to put it down to a poor work ethic but during that week even I could not deliver on what management required of the department.
Those rosters I mentioned — outdated and poorly designed. The equipment and PPE? Insufficient amounts of various items. Supervisors and managers — untrained for the demands of the new job after having been moved across from other departments years prior to the upper-level management team now overseeing them. Morale – incredibly low as employees were trying deliver the best with limited resources.
Being able to be part of their day-to-day and experience the work-as-done versus work-as-imagined aided was vital in the process for change.
This is the part that is in our control – to assess the usefulness of a system or roster, to improve the training and equipping of employees and managers, the promotion of Safety Differently and, finally, raising morale by highlighting the good and not just the bad.
Can you make the horse drink?
A predecessor of mine in the safety field did something I thought was very brave. After years of flying and building a life in a foreign country around their career in aviation, they stepped down from the role as a pilot. There was no reason other than their loss of interest in that task and they feared this lack of focus and drive could lead to a bigger loss downstream.
This brings me to the second part which is less in your control. You can have the right equipment, systems and training compounded with a fun and safe working environment, thereafter it is for the person to carry out the task the way it is intended to be done. This is only accomplished if they have the will within.
Consider that most of us who are pilots decided on this vocation from a young age and the discipline it takes to complete the licence instills in us the sense of “why” we do what we do, motivating us to a high standard when we carry out the job. Have you considered if everyone in your business came to their jobs the same way? I would venture a guess and say probably not. My advice: Begin by imparting to them the importance of their job and telling them why you chose them for that position. Complement this with the necessary tools and training to make it possible for them to partake in doing the right thing right.