Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Improving an&nbsp;organization's culture directly relates to improved safety, two leading training specials say, adding it&nbsp;also can provide a boost to efficiency. During Bombardier’s Safety Standdown on Wednesday, JD McHenry and Rich Bean, the respective CEO and president of business aviation maintenance training provider GlobalJet Services, emphasized the importance of the “human side” of culture, particularly how leaders and managers interact with their teams.
“We work really hard on the technical skills, but I think it’s time we really focus on our soft skills” to build a positive culture, McHenry said.
“If you want to enhance your safety culture, if you want to enhance…the people who work around you and yourself, you have to be a leader,” Bean added.
The trouble is, many skilled professionals are rewarded by being promoted into a leadership role, but they aren’t given proper training for it, McHenry said, and they are not prepared for that role.
McHenry and Bean stressed that leadership and management have two very different definitions. Leadership “comes from the heart,” providing vision, inspiration, and motivation;&nbsp;while management “comes from the mind,” and is focused on process and project completion.
Both skills are very important for everyone and should be used continuously, both at work and at home. “If you are happy at your home life, you are going to be happy at work,” Bean said.
With that in mind, he said GlobalJet does what it can to foster that on both sides, including keeping an open dialog on home issues. Also, GlobalJet discovered flexibility has helped tremendously with efficiency. The company adopted core hours when everyone must be at work: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. To fulfill a full day, employees can choose to come in earlier or leave later. In addition, the company put early leave on Fridays in place. Since adopting those policies, the company saw an 85 percent increase in efficiency in various departments. “If you take care of people, they will take care of the business for you.”
They noted that despite the assumption that money motivates work,&nbsp;appreciation for a job well done goes a long way. A simple thank you “in my opinion is the number one motivator,” McHenry said.
Also,&nbsp;empowering the employees, bringing them in, and making&nbsp;them feel included in the conversation, will give them&nbsp;a stake in the success of an organization.
Bean advised attendees to tap into their own emotional intelligence and learn how to be empathic and listen to others. “This is the direction we are going in this industry.”
They cautioned against negativity and allowing anger to control actions. This approach will leave lasting impressions on people. “Once you start bad-mouthing and criticizing others, you start building a negative environment.“ This can snowball and&nbsp;get out of control.
The goal is to talk as positively as a leader can&nbsp;and set the example to encourage synergy and a cohesive unit, Bean said.
“When you want to create a safety culture, you want to enhance safety, and you want to do things better.&nbsp;You have to be more synergetic…. that’s the direction we need to go as an industry,” Bean said.
“We are adamant about being 100 percent a team in our company,” McHenry added.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

GlobalJet Execs: Positive Work Culture Boosts Safety

The leadership of business aviation maintenance training provider GlobalJet Services say it's time to focus on "soft skills."

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Stuart “Kipp” Lau

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

How a positive safety culture contributes to an effective SMS 

AINsight: PB&J, SMS, and Safety Culture

Jessica Reed

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

Flight attendant received the Above and Beyond Award for Heroic Achievement

NBAA Honors Sydney Bosmans for Heroism in Fatal Crash

Curt Epstein

AI will reach every sector of the industry

Artificial Intelligence Looms Large in Bizav's Future

Hanneke Weitering

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

Twenty airlines and 25 corporate flight departments are using electronic flight bag software

GE Aerospace's FlightPulse Pilot App Surpasses 40,000 Users

One update is the “Quick FRAT” (Flight Risk Assessment Tool)

Nimbl Enhances Platform to Simplify Safety Management

Charles Alcock

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Technology allows users to log high definition images and data for future reference

AI-based Camera System Pinpoints Foreign Object Debris

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Company expects FAA approval by February

Klatt Works Introduces Combined Oxygen Mask/HUD

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

More In Safety