In a message dated 98-02-03 17:16:22 EST, you asked several questions. I'll
take a shot at answering them in turn:
What kind of background is preferred (or necessary) to become a CRM
trainer/facilitator ?
I think the four most important aspects of the good facilitators that I know,
both in our company and out, are 1) an ability to teach and 2)lead a
discussion together with an 3)extensive command of the subject of CRM. The
last and most important is 4) attitude. With those in hand anyone can
facilitate. The ability to teach includes imparting information to others,
recognizing learning obstacles, and defining appropriate remediation, when
necessary. To lead a discussion, one must read the audience, draw out the
reticent, restrain the exuberant, and still keep the group's attention on the
subject and/or course objectives. Command of the subject requires the
facilitator to be an 'expert' in the area of the material he/she is teaching.
Attitude is the key to the whole thing. Without an eager, receptive, honest
enthusiasm for the task at hand, facilitating this particular CRM session, the
other attributes may well be for naught.
What kind of experience do you need ?
Many advocate that only airline pilots can teach airline pilots, etc. I do not
think so. I taught Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force pilots and crews as a
retired Air Force pilot. My students came from both the fixed wing and rotary
wing community, bombers, fighters, and transports. My critiques were
consistantly high. The secret: I did not come to them to teach them how to fly
or employ their weapon system. I came to help them learn the traps and tools
of Crew Resource Management. Two of the best facilitators in our company are
not pilots. One is a loadmaster and the other is a navigator. Pilot expertise
is overrated if the facilitator knows his business and both he and his student
understand the objectives of the training.
I think the facilitator must be familiar with the business of flying aircraft,
but you cannot ignore your audience. My loadmaster or navigator might not be
as effective with an audience of fighter pilots. The credibility of the
application of their expertise would be questionable to a group whose flying
is so different from the non-pilot. However, they do very well in audiences of
multi-place aircraft crews. The two facilitators share only their flying
backgrounds in common. One has a degree in psychology, the other has no
degree. Neither is a pilot. Both are effective.
Do you need to be an experienced pilot and if yes, what kind of experience ?
As I said, some kinds of special circumstances may call for unique experience.
Single place aircraft crews usually respond better to a pilot, preferrably
another single place pilot. I am not saying this is a requirement, only a
consideration. I always introduce myself as one who is going to discuss CRM
with the class and that they are the ones with the technical expertise in
their weapon system or aircraft type. The classes become amazingly self
regulating in the technical areas with that kind of structure.
What kind of training do you need to become a CRM instructor ?
In my experience, there is no special training. It is more a personality type
and, as Pete Wolfe said, dedication to the business of enhancing flight
safety through CRM training. Our training program requires the facilitator
prospect to observe one entire class of CRM courseware, participate in a
course of instruction on 'How to Facilitate", teach the CRM course under
supervision of another facilitator, then pass a certification test, teaching
in an unsupervised, but graded session.
This only scratches the surface. Hope it helps.
Dave Wilson
Raytheon