The crew involved in one of the more dramatic accidents in another field
(Three Mile Island, March, 1979) had demonstrated many of the characteristics
described in this thread--they were rated "one of the best" by their trainers
and management. They were the elite--but collectively they had a blind-spot,
and not one of them stepped "outside the situation" to re-evaluate what was
happening. They fixed on a mythical problem and followed it for hours
despite significant evidence to the contrary. A combination of faulty
""group-think" and strong personalities played a role.
Now it seems to me that your community has worried about this for longer, and
has come up with pretty good solutions; the power industry has not yet moved
collectively to the equivalent of CRM-like training. Each utility does its
own thing and the licensing body is silent on the matter.
I guess my point (if there is one) is that the issue of what makes a good
professional includes the issues of pride and internal satisfaction, but
there's a need to be prepared for the unexpected, or even the impossible.
One characteristic I've observed in highly effective professionals is a
capacity to rehearse "impossible" scenarios as they are in the shower or
driving to work. Didn't the Sioux City pilot (I'm sorry but I've forgotten
his name) rehearse in his mind how to control a plane if all hydraulics were
lost *before* the accident?
Best wishes,
John Wreathall
The WreathWood Group.