The Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Organizational Safety

Carlos Guillem, Northcentral University

Presented during Concurrent Session 5A - Professionalism & Leadership in Aviation

Abstract

Leadership plays an essential part in the sustainability and success of an organization. This is especially the case with airlines and aviation organizations whom invest a substantial amount of money in training each year. The Federal Aviation Administration implemented leadership training as a requirement for commercial operators based on the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board’s accident investigations. The problem addressed by this study was that airlines have not identified what leadership styles promote organizational safety. Without understanding the leadership styles pilots pose and how those styles influence safety, aviation organizations cannot effectively address the concerns of the Federal Aviation Administration when imposing such regulatory training requirements. The conceptual framework for this study was organizational leadership and a self-reported survey design was used to execute the non-experimental quantitative method. The method and design of the study examined a correlation between transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership styles and organizational safety through the identification of safety attitudes. Data was collected from 100 pilots with an airline transport pilot certificate, whom completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X and the Aviation Safety Attitudes Assessment survey instruments. Person’s correlation was used in SPSS to measure the existence, strength, and direction of a relationship between the variables. The results showed a statistical significance between specific leadership styles and certain safety attitudes. The study was significant because the findings added to the literature on the influence leadership styles have on safety, which can aid airlines and aviation organizations in developing more effective training.

 
Mar 3rd, 9:30 AM Mar 3rd, 10:45 AM

The Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Organizational Safety

Mori Hosseini Student Union Events Center (Bldg #610) – Rooms 165 B/C

Leadership plays an essential part in the sustainability and success of an organization. This is especially the case with airlines and aviation organizations whom invest a substantial amount of money in training each year. The Federal Aviation Administration implemented leadership training as a requirement for commercial operators based on the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board’s accident investigations. The problem addressed by this study was that airlines have not identified what leadership styles promote organizational safety. Without understanding the leadership styles pilots pose and how those styles influence safety, aviation organizations cannot effectively address the concerns of the Federal Aviation Administration when imposing such regulatory training requirements. The conceptual framework for this study was organizational leadership and a self-reported survey design was used to execute the non-experimental quantitative method. The method and design of the study examined a correlation between transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership styles and organizational safety through the identification of safety attitudes. Data was collected from 100 pilots with an airline transport pilot certificate, whom completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X and the Aviation Safety Attitudes Assessment survey instruments. Person’s correlation was used in SPSS to measure the existence, strength, and direction of a relationship between the variables. The results showed a statistical significance between specific leadership styles and certain safety attitudes. The study was significant because the findings added to the literature on the influence leadership styles have on safety, which can aid airlines and aviation organizations in developing more effective training.