Re: Followership

Dr. Guy M. Smith (guy.smith_at_nwa.com)
Tue, 13 May 1997 13:06:19 -0700


Hi Dave, Thanks for your response on the wayward FO. In fact, our
intervention followed you blueprint - a pre-trip discussion with the
captain. The captain was planning to ask the FO to reverse roles and see
it from the captain's viewpoint. "If you were the captain and I picked
up the PA to make an unscheduled announcement, what would you want me to
tell you before I started talking to the passengers?" I haven't gotten
any feedback on results yet.

It is interesting that your training mimics our "FOUR WORDS OF CRM." We
teach: Authority with Participation; Assertiveness with Respect. We
also demonstrate that these ideas in isolation are dysfunctional.
Authority without participation (except in an immediate-response
emergency) is dysfunctional. Similarly, Participation without Authority
is anarchy - also dysfunctional, especially in abnormal and emergency
situations. The same logic applies for the dysfunctionality of
assertiveness without respect and for respect without assertiveness.

Here's a funny story. In Pilot Indoc we spend at least a half hour on
"The Four Words of CRM: Authority with Participation; Assertiveness with
Respect." In the Exam we asked the question, "What are the four words of
CRM?" One pilot responded, "Crew Resource Management." Go figure!!

-- 
Guy M. Smith
Manager, Human Factors Practices
Northwest Airlines N7205
5101 Northwest Dr.
St. Paul, MN 55111-3034
Phone 612-727-4255