Do you have good SA?
On my first day at my second command, I knew I had a problem: I couldn’t personally see everything happening across the command. I asked my administrative assistant, Bonnie, “Are you the one who has your finger on the pulse of this organization?”
“No,” she replied. “People often go around me.”
“Oh, that’s going to change,” I said with a smile.
I needed Bonnie to know what was happening across the organization because my own situational awareness depended on it. With constant travel and a demanding schedule, I needed someone who could “see and feel” what was going on day to day. Bonnie became that person. Every phone call, meeting request, and casual inquiry would go through her. Given the enormity of the job, it would have been easy for me to become overloaded and lose focus.
Over time, Bonnie became my early warning system for the command. Small issues were brought to my attention before they became major problems. I stayed connected even when travel pulled me away from the office.
What Aviation Teaches About Leadership
In aviation, maintaining situational awareness is essential for safe flight. Having “good SA” means staying prepared, alert, and aware of risks while integrating multiple sources of information to operate safely. Aviators constantly monitor airspeed, attitude, angle of attack, relative motion, weather, changing terrain –often all at once.
The same principle applies to leadership. Leaders rarely fail because they lack talent or expertise. More often, they fail because they become overloaded, disconnected, and unaware of what’s happening around them.
Maintaining awareness of your team, your environment, and changing conditions remains critical to making sound decisions and leading effectively.
Good SA VS Poor SA
We often describe SA in simple terms: “good SA” versus “poor SA.” Poor SA shows up as a lack of awareness, task saturation, and flawed decision-making. It happens when too many demands overwhelm your ability to process information and prioritize effectively. In your organization, task saturation may look like nonstop meetings, fragmented communication, competing priorities, and reactive decision-making.
Leaders with poor situational awareness often discover problems too late: a disengaged team member, a brewing conflict, or a mission slipping off track. When leaders lose situational awareness, they also lose perspective.
The Four Elements of SA
The Pilot Institute breaks situational awareness into four key components:
- Perception – Recognizing critical information in the environment.
- Comprehension – Understanding what that information means.
- Projection – Anticipating what will happen next.
- Decision-making – Choosing and executing the best course of action.
Effective leaders intentionally build systems for awareness trusted advisors, recurring check-ins, candid feedback loops, and time to think before reacting.
Building Better Situational Awareness
Situational awareness does not happen automatically. It requires continuous attention, disciplined processes, and trusted people who help leaders stay connected to reality.
Situational awareness is not passive. It is built intentionally, maintained daily, and protected relentlessly.
How are you maintaining yours?
Fly High,
Barbara
Need help developing your SA? Connect with me at CaptainBarbaraBell.com and look at my book, Flight Lessons: Navigating Through Life’s Turbulence and Learning to Fly High. Let’s get started.
#aviation, #situationalawareness, #coaching, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #veterans
Photo by Fahrul Azmi on Unsplash
