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Some will argue that choices have made things more complex and stressful. The decision-making process is full of anxiety and stress. We are always worried that we made the wrong choice, that we missed the one option that might have been better that we'll get second guessed on Monday about for what we chose on Friday. HOW DO ALL THESE CHOICES AFFECT TEAMS? OK, by now you're wondering what the heck does all of this have to do with teams at work and business aviation and aircraft maintenance? It has a lot to do with it. In our industry we have not been spared from the advances of technology. In fact some would say our industry has experienced an immense influx of technology, along with all of its symptoms and side-effects and cultural and organizational issues. So we have similar challenges. We have old technology aircraft and then we have very old technology aircraft and then we have even older, and then we have very new. We have all sorts of avionics packages, engines, and cabin choices. Lots of new gizmos and tons of options on how to use them or how to fix them when they break. And along with all of that we have different approaches to finding solutions to problems. Someone will go one way and trouble shoot. For some, money is not a big deal which creates faster choices. There are many more influencers. So then, you may have two people who will choose two different ways to solve an issue or a problem and they both get to the answer and the solution and they will both be right! It can be exhausting. Then we add the different generations at work into this equation and as they say in New York "Forget about it." Everyone has different ways of doing things and there are many opinions about how to do things and how do you even begin to figure this out or sort out who's doing what or who should be involved in the decision making and what or how they should be doing it? Is this frustrating or what! Here comes some ideas: Let's reverse think the old ways of doing things, spe- cially at work. There was a time when it was expected that the more complex the issue was, the more impressive it was. People assumed that it must be the person that really figured this out. This may have worked in the past. Today, we need to think "Simplicity is the best form of sophis- tication." What that means is, in order to improve human factors and human inter- actions, our role is to take all the choices and ways of doing things and try and simplify them for our respective teams. Refine the process. Reduce the choices. It means dealing with people issues with a different approach. It means working to ensure the team is on the same page. It means reducing too many choices to a few digestible ones which work for you and your team. Good teams and leaders these days should strive to spend more time with teammates on the human level and dis- cuss the challenges we face. We need to emphasize communication. Whatever level of communication we were used to doing, we need to increase it 1000 percent. Aim for the result of a better team with a more cohesive focus and understanding of your specific group's or organization's culture and goals. Think of this increase in time with people on your team as an investment. Leadership will play a big role in this. Leaders have to rethink their leadership techniques and tactics. We have to spend more time with people before we can get started on actual work! And while we do this we also need to balance it with "diversity in council and unity in com- mand." Leaders need to listen better and give people the opportunity to be heard. All the while making sure everyone knows and understands that once a decision is made or a choice has been made, we all need to get on the same page and move forward, 100 percent. You'll have a very healthy team if you can achieve this. But it is not easy. It takes time to develop this culture. However, once you do, you'll have a really fun place to work. BOB HOBBI is the founder, presi- dent, and CEO of ServiceElements International Inc. Bob has 30 plus years in aerospace and aviation leadership roles with FlightSafety International, Honeywell Aerospace's Aerospace Academy, and MedAire. ServiceElements is an organization- al and people development company, now in the aerospace industry for almost 15 years. For more information visit www.ServiceElements.com . AviationPros.com/company/10134757