True heroes are team players. The story of the plane crash on April 17, 2018 focused on the ‘nerves of steel’ of one crew member, Captain Tammie Jo Shults. Her skill and calmness under pressure are only two traits that make her a hero. Today, all five crew members were interviewed on a morning talk show. It became evident that it took more than nerves of steel’ to land the plane. I’ve outlined 3 additional traits of these heroes used to develop a successful team and land the plane safely. True heroes give credit to others.
On the show, Captain Shults gives credit to her first officer, Darren Elliso for locating a place for the emergency landing in Philadelphia and for keeping the flight attendants informed and calm. She called him the ‘unsung hero’ as she credited all five crew members for their team effort to land the plane.
They learn about their teammates on a personal level.
Amazingly, this was the first time the crew had ever flown together. Captain Shults said it was Southwest Airline’s policy for the crew to meet together for a ‘morning briefing’ about the weather. She likes to take this time to get to know her crew better before flying. They found they had their faith and love of family in common. “It did not have to be the same faith”, she explained. They felt like they knew each other by sharing something personal. It made them a team.
They have confidence in each other.
The flight attendants looked the passengers in the eye and said, “we are going to land safely.” When asked if they meant it, they answered without hesitation “yes”. Their confidence spread throughout the plane. Passengers were helping them with other passengers including trying to hold onto one passenger who was sadly sucked from the plane.
You can listen to the recording of Captain Shults here from Newsweek. She is calm and professional as she reports the emergency. Today, Captain Shults shared that while it was her voice we heard, it was the entire crew who were heroes as they worked together for safe landing.
Jean Brownlie is an independent contractor, consultant and trainer for WorkerSmarts LLC. Contact Jean at [email protected] to learn how she can help you change teammates into team heroes.
Passionate about a building an environment where people are valued and enjoy coming to work.
