Followership
Dr. Guy M. Smith (guy.smith_at_nwa.com)
Thu, 08 May 1997 16:34:37 -0700
One of our Captains just called me to discuss a new-hire First Officer
who has 15 months with the airline - beyond probation. The FO has many
years of experience as aircraft commander with the military and as a
captain on a regional airline. Now, as an FO, he is sorely lacking in
followership skills. He makes PA announcements before consulting with
the captain; he asks for direct vectors without checking with the
captain; he calls dispatch without telling the captain his concerns
beforehand; etc. Of course this is unacceptable in a crew environment
and we have worked out an intervention to help the FO get the message.
After the phonecall, I mused about what I know on the topic of
followership. I looked through my materials for resources on
followership skills and came up blank. Much is written about leadership,
but followership appears to be a neglected subject. Does anybody have
any resources or papers on the subject that you could share with me. I
recommend that you respond to the group because there are others, I'm
sure, that will be interested in this topic.
--
Dr. Guy M. Smith
Manager, Human Factors Practices
Northwest Airlines N7205
5101 Northwest Dr.
St. Paul, MN 55111-3034
Phone 612-727-4255