What makes a good SATCO
 

Having worked under several SATCO's/MATS in my time, some good, some bad. What qualities do people think are a prerequisite in order for someone to hold that position?:D

Your question, how about your opinions to get the ball rolling?

He has to have good management skills and remember that he is dealing with professionals. During my career I worked under many SATCOs - most in the UK. Some were excellent at their jobs; others were total prats. Same in all jobs though...

One important thing - unless he holds a current validation he should keep his nose out of the operational task!

Fair point Silent handover,

I agree with HD about validation, my other ideas would be 1- Integrity
2 An ability to command respect
(whether you agree or disagree with decisions)
3 Sense of fair play and humour
4 An open door
5 Be excellent at job but honest enough to Know
limitations.
6 Never suffers from short arms and long pockets.

I'm sure I'll think of more but will that do for now
:p

Never to forget that once they were a worker bee, and that suddenly wearing another hat doesn't change that.

Career Managers
 

I'm of the opinion that all those qualities which make for an excellent controller -

the ability to make snap judgments

the ability to listen to what you need to hear and eliminate the rest

the ability to make solutions work, no matter how bad they are

the ability to communicate using the minimum amount of verbiage

the ability to emotionally distance oneself from what's going on around you

- all these qualities we admire in controllers, make for an absolutly terrible supervisor.

I used to find it frustrating that the people who tended to "rise" into supervisory positions were those who couldn't seperate the cheeks of ... well, you know the saying. As it happens, though, those people tended to be better supervisors, in most cases, than the hot-dog controllers who occasionally wormed their way into the woodwork.

In fact, I believe ATC would be better served by having a seperate "management career-track," apart from controllers. Hire MBAs, show them a bit about ATC, then let them use their skills to improve the profession.

ATCEA.com - it's good for you

Hmmm, having experienced something similar you will have to excuse me if I don't agree. The 'show them a bit about ATC' is the problem. They then think they know it all!

I'm with vintage on this one. What you need is someone who understands the job and who either has a natural talent for good and fair management or who learns the craft in some way.

It's no better to hire MBAs and show them a bit about ATC than it is to have a controller who's shown a bit about management.

It takes several years training to become a good controller - it takes just as long to become a good manager (unless you happen to be one of those rare people with natural talent).

And I'm afraid that atcea's suggestion that those who are poor controllers and rise to supervisory levels tend to be ok at the latter is not borne out in my experience. I worked for a while with a dodgy controller who got promoted and became a very dodgy watch manager!

'show them a bit about the job'

That has to be a joke and as for MBAs......another joke! British industry is full of bright young things with degrees and little else!Chiefs who know a little about the job and consequently make a mess of things.......what you need in most management jobs is knowledge, experience, integrity, honesty, good communications (including listening), discipline, delegation skills, ability to empathise, ability to use strengths and develop weaknesses, willingness to admit errors and set a sound example....amongst other things!
H49

I'm with you Helen 49 couldn't indeed didn't put it better myself:ok:

I saw a number of controllers "promoted out of trouble" to convince me that the system was wrong.. I'm talking people who couldn't handle the headset-job and got promoted to bonus-paying, suit-wearing, company-car, BUPA type management jobs..... and they often made a cock of that too.... but then there was nowhere else for them to go!

Be strict but scrupulously fair, protect your staff from outside interference, don't lie and keep your word.

At the 5 units I've worked at, I've only worked for one ATSM who fulfills all those requirements, and although we didn't particularly see eye to eye on a personal level, I had great respect for him, and would be pleased to have him as my boss at my present unit.

Hi There,
Forgive the stupid question, am I right in saying that an ATSM (ATS Manager) and SATCO are two different things? IE ATCU's have both....or is that incorrect?
Dan.

Dan,

SATCO and ATSM are fundementally the same thing, and although there may be airports that have both, I don't know of any.
I think it all comes down to the concept that SATCOs were managing ATS units anyway, and all around them, other supervisors in different airport departments were suddenly becoming "managers" and full of their own self importance, so why shouldn't SATCOs?:E

It probably started within NATS, and what's good for them is good for non NATS egos. :p

Dan,

At LBA, the job went from SATCO to Manager Airfield Services to
Air Traffic Services Manager in the space of less than ten years and something like four different people. The bottom line is that whatever the job title, it's the personage in charge of ATC.

Hi There,
Thanks for your replies...
My local is Bristol EGGD, I thought we had an ATSM and SATCO, as two separate people, I wont mention any names, but I know the ATSM, and I thought I knew who the SATCO was, but now Im confused as to whether its just the one person....can any of you Bristol guys answer "desperate Dan's" questions? ;).
Dan.

Didn't Coventry, under the Atlantique mafia, have both a SATCO (an validated operational ATCO) and an ATSM (a lady who, I am told but I never actually found out for real, was ex mil' with no civil qualifications), for quite a while?

Well the two guys at EGGD that I THINK are the SATCO/ATSM are both operational ATCO's.

Yes, and you're right. She was a manager only, not a licensed civil ATCO.

There's no definitive answer. It all depends on the airport and how their managment is structured.

In some cases you'll find that the ATSM is responsible for all of the air traffic services (controllers, engineers, briefing staff) with managers beneath him or her looking after each discipline. You might find the person looking after the controllers is called the SATCO. On the other hand, you could find that the person who looks after everything is called the SATCO. The only way you'll find out who does what is to see the management structure of the organisation.

Difficult question to answer!! No easy - quick answer so I'll just throw in a couple of thoughts.

ATC is a fast-moving, constantly changing world. The Manager needs the ability to look ahead, consult with staff and encourage their ideas, plan for change and manage it effectively.

Unfortunately, many people appointed to management start creating change just to try to impress their superiors. There has to be a genuine need to make a change such as improving safety etc.