For the past several years, professionalism has been one of the most widely used words and fervently discussed topics in aviation. Pilot and air traffic controller professionalism made the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) Top 10 “Most Wanted” list in 2011. It was the focus of a 2010 NTSB forum and a 2009 Air Line Pilots Association, International white paper.
It has been the subject of countless articles and blogs in the years since then. Whether it’s an accident post-mortem determining that pilots behaved in an “unprofessional” manner, a CEO declaring his employees are the “most professional” in the business or leaders calling for an industrywide elevation in the level of professionalism, aviation is reaching for improvements in this area to make continued gains in safety and to attract future talent.
One of the challenges is the lack of a common definition. Ask any 10 people in the aviation industry to define professionalism, and while…
