I was flying with a chap, who was getting ready to be promoted to Captain.
During the flight he said he felt he wasn't sure as to whether he would be
a good Captain. He asked point blank, what makes a good Captain ? How do
you know if you are making the right decisions ?
Trying to reassure him that he was ready for the upgrade I told him that he
had been making those 'right' decisions all along. He looked puzzled.
Though SOPs cover the basics and will give you the safe parameters to stay
within, there will always be forks in the road. I explained to him that
everytime we came to a fork that wasn't covered by the SOP, I would ask for
his opinion. In most cases he would give the safe / right answer as to
which fork to take.
I went on to say that soliciting that information from him, kept him in the
loop, made him feel important and let him have a say in the decision making
process, though not always the final word.
Adding to the story, I told him you can't teach experience. You can talk
about it as Kern and others do in their books. From their stories and
ideas, and those of your fellow pilots and crew members you learn to
develop your own approach to situations. Over time that develops into
'experience.' Your decision making and confidence level grow with the
experience.
Tim
Timothy W. Manuge
Air Canada