The 737-MAX is back in action!

Now, if you had to board one tonight how you feel?

Would it soothe you to know that the FAA Administrator said he was “100% confident” in the airplane?

Would you rest easy knowing that there are new pilot training requirements and the software has been updated?

Or would you still have that little twinge in your gut? Would you hear your brain saying, “everything will probably be fine,” while feeling your gut hesitate.

Where is that hesitation coming from? It’s a trust thing. Boeing’s big problem now, and the airlines’ big problem now with the 737-MAX is trust. And why is that? As someone who follows the aviation industry, I just haven’t seen enough effort (yet) put in to rebuilding trust.

Let’s set this case study aside. For those of you in leadership positions, trust is essential. In general, If the product is broken, fixing the technical errors is important. Equally important, though, is communicating openly, earnestly, frankly, and frequently about what happened, why it happened, and what you are doing about it.

We do that because the big problems are never just about solving technical solutions, they’re also have a human component.