Martin Egerth
Senior Human Factors Expert, Lufthansa Aviation Training Switzerland
Martin Egerth is a Senior Human Factors Expert at Lufthansa Aviation Training Switzerland. As a psychologist and process manager, he is responsible for the standardization of all human factors, leadership and security trainings within the Lufthansa Group and all the trainings beyond the aviation industry.
During his sixteen years working for the Lufthansa Group, Martin has developed, overseen and conducted trainings that have developed the skill sets of pilots, flights attendants and non-flying staff. From basic and recurrent training to management and leadership training for the entire Lufthansa Group and external airlines, Martin has trained over 8,000 flying staff.
Martin also founded a human factors working group comprised of 34 European and international airlines that meets annually to exchange CRM best practices, discuss how to avoid incidents and accidents, identify the influence that culture and safety culture has on CRM and develop CRM for the future.
Over the past six years, he has worked on a project to improve and develop the interpersonal and leadership skills in the medical sector.
Martin is a member of the ICAO Cabin Safety Working Group and the EASA HF Regulatory Advisory Group.
Navigating Through Uncertain Times: The Need for Self-Reflection, Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
Over the past 20 years, the aviation industry has been confronted with many challenging situations – 9/11, SARS, the financial crisis, fluctuating oil prices, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, trade disputes, geopolitical issues and now Covid-19. From every crisis or unforeseen challenges comes fear, uncertainty, change and also new possibilities. These possibilities might not be immediately clear and oftentimes we expect others, like our companies or management, to do something about it and to tell us what to do next.
Feelings such as fear, insecurity, frustration and demotivation are human and understandable. WHat is important is to address and take such fears seriously so they do not affect flight safety. How do we achieve this? Communication, CRM, Leadership and self-reflection.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself”. This is what we need to do – be honest with ourselves and ask what this crisis and not being able to train or fly means to me. How does it feel being home, dealing with family matters or finding new hobbies? What can I do to prepare when the restart happens? We self-reflect far too little and usually only when forced to do so.
In the aviation industry, we are normally surrounded by people and colleagues in our day to day. This is why communication and leadership are essential. As we slowly more to “take off” again, we need to address our feelings, motivate ourselves, take stock of our responsibilities and do our job as well as we did it before this virus changed our world and industry.
This presentation will address the topics mentioned above. The audience will be inspired to lead in these difficult times, to understand the role of emotional intelligence and psychological safety in doing so, how to self-reflect and why mentoring, especially in the cockpit is essential. If you communicate well, whether in your teams or your relationship, you can handle every crisis that comes your way.