Corp flt dept managers

[Roadie]

What are your experiences with corporate flight dept. management?

As line pilots, are your experiences with your immediate supervisors positive or negative? What makes a good chief pilot? What makes a bad one?

In my 20+ year career, I've experienced both good and bad.

My last job was very positive - the chief pilot was very considerate with the troops - always willing to give you time off or rearrange crews to accomodate family concerns when he was able to do so. This guy was never on a power trip and was a wonderful person to fly with. He told me once that he was mistreated at a former job and vowed that if he were ever in a position of authority over others, he would not do likewise. He was true to his vow. I think that when a manager has that kind of philosophy, the troops will bend over backwards for him, really WANTING to make him look good. Guys like this are very effective managers and benefit their companies tremendously. Its win-win for everyone.

On the other hand, there are the ego-driven, political, ass-kissing managers out there. You know, the ones, who for whatever reason (I suspect their own feelings of insecurity), love to lord it over their "subjects", withold advancement (to better airplanes, for example), by creating "carrot-dangling" stupid, make-work incentives, and policies which have no conceivable benefit for anyone. War stories abound regarding the type, and everyone always wonders how these people ever got to their positions of authority. They apparently think that belittling suboordinates, or taking all the choice trips will gain them respect somehow.

I once worked for a guy who was such a pathological liar he made Bill Clinton look like a choir boy. I often wondered if the company ever did a real background check on him.

What kind of experiences have y'all had?

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Im sure the responses will vary widely!

I have worked for smaller Pt91 and 135 managed airplanes where someone is assinged the "Chief Pilot" title. Sometimes this one goes to thier head. Rememeber this is an ego-driven business for many...they love that title...heck, some even put it on thier online profile here..."Chief Pilot"......greeeeat. For some of these guys this point is the pinnacle of thier career and they will let you know it! many will also constantly think everyone else is after thier "title"....I worked for one who was VERY paranoid about younger guys going after his place...he had "seen it before"...ok....nobody wanted the extra 10K/yr to do all the chief duties...nobody. Some may try and block your career progress...ignore it and move on. Look out for number ONE. Say Thanks and move on is the best attitude. I suppose these obstacles happen in every field though, not just ours...its life.

I think as I moved up to larger departments things got much better...a higher level of talent and education helps a great deal.
In very large companies (15-40 pilots say..) everyone seems to work together more, less reporting strictly to one egomaniac. The huge difference is that this "Chief" is no longer a puppet for the owner or management company as is very common in smaller outfits. In large departments you are just another employee who happens to fly an airplane.

Also keep in mind smaller outfits tend to hire whoever is current and can start working ASAP with as little cost to them....they hire whoever can do the job NOW, they dont care if he/she fits into the culture...Large operators hire the PERSON, the training costs, etc...are not really a factor. Also new-hires come from very strong internal reccommendations. The first question a Chief Pilot or Aviation Director will ask is "Will he/she fit in here?"..."Is he/she friendly?, does he/she have hobbies?".....they look for the personality first. Heck, you can train a monkey to fly a plane...I think the key to a well run department is having a group of pilots who can spend time together, especially larger flight departments who do weeks in a row all over the globe. A manager who strives to keep this goal in mind will have a good outfit.

What's the first thing many smaller outfits ask??....."you typed?", "You current?, you got an 8710?".....done deal...so they may wind up with a mix-match of people....but heck, they are just trying to keep the thing flying...all there is to it.

I agree with you 100%, a good manager will make you feel good enough to go the extra mile.....oh....and will get you bigger raises!!