The Aviation Industry, as a collective of Highly Reliable Organisations, has an appetite and a duty to continuous learning through highly scientific and case study analysis.

NASA led the original research and discovered that in our complex environment - which is seen everywhere in the modern world, traditional technical skill sets were not enough – there is something missing.

A new discipline of non-technical skills was developed based on the nine human competencies where error lay, identifying behaviours that preclude these errors successfully and the practice of Human Factors was born. It has today evolved into a set of skills that are continuously assessed which in aviation we refer to as Crew Resource Management.

This is what is fundamental to making aviation so efficient and flying the safest way to travel. Crews and colleagues understand their roles exactly – they know what they are uniquely placed to do, and how to do it extremely well. They are protected by a culture that promotes honesty and the ability to learn from each other through inclusivity and cognitive diversity.

The best part? This practice is directly and completely transferable to all walks of life. We are seeing through our work at Ad Astra how organisations in other industries are experiencing the benefits: fewer errors, re-motivated teams, and a strong culture of trust and integrity - not just a 'can-do' but a 'will-do' mentality.

We see that the new tools that they develop with coaching create an unshakable confidence that they can tackle anything as a team, that they are in the right place, with the best support mechanism - a motivated set of colleagues working on the same page, with the same tools.

Joshua de Maid - 10th February 2023