Understanding five hazardous attitudes

"Crashes in life are not exclusive to aviation," warns Ricky Brown, a seasoned former commercial pilot, flight instructor, and author of The Five Hazardous Attitudes: Ways to Win the War Within. In his latest book, Brown delves into five destructive mindsets originally identified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as contributors to aviation accidents. However, as Brown points out, these hazardous attitudes are not confined to the skies—they can infiltrate workplaces, compromising safety and leading to serious incidents.

Brown’s insights are drawn from a rich background in aviation, where he was not only responsible for flying commercial aircraft but also for training the next generation of pilots. His role as a flight instructor was critical: ensuring that only those truly equipped with the right skills and mindset earned their licenses. Coupled with his experience in ministry and his service as a United States Air Force veteran, Brown’s perspective on leadership, safety, and human behavior is both broad and deep. These experiences form the backbone of his book, which is particularly relevant for health and safety leaders tasked with maintaining safe work environments.

At the core of Brown’s book are five key attitudes that, if left unaddressed, can lead to significant safety risks:

1. Anti-Authority
   This attitude is marked by a resistance to rules and regulations. In the workplace, particularly in safety-critical industries, an anti-authority mindset can lead to non-compliance with safety protocols. “You can actually go on YouTube and hear audio recordings of pilots arguing with air traffic control,” Brown explains. “This is a problem because control is literally their last name. Their job is to control the traffic in the air.” For health and safety leaders, the challenge is to identify this attitude early and address it before it leads to dangerous disregard for safety procedures.
    
2. Impulsivity
   Acting without thinking is a perilous trait in any environment, but especially in workplaces where safety is paramount. “Impulsivity causes people to act before they think,” says Brown. This attitude can result in hasty decisions that overlook critical safety considerations, leading to accidents that could have been prevented with more deliberate thinking.
    
3. Invulnerability
   The belief that "it won’t happen to me" is a common yet dangerous mindset. “Invulnerability says consequences happen, but they won’t happen to me,” Brown explains. This attitude can lead to complacency, where individuals underestimate risks, believing that they are immune to the dangers that others face. For safety leaders, combating this attitude requires fostering a culture of vigilance and personal responsibility.
    
4. Macho
   Overconfidence and the desire to prove oneself can be deadly, especially in high-risk environments. “Macho is an overinflated sense of self-ability,” notes Brown. In the workplace, this can manifest as unnecessary risk-taking, with individuals prioritizing bravado over safety. Leaders must work to temper this attitude, promoting teamwork and caution over individual showmanship.
    
5. Resignation
   A defeatist attitude where an individual feels powerless to make a difference can be just as dangerous as the other attitudes. “What’s the use? I can’t make a difference,” Brown says, capturing the essence of resignation. This mindset can lead to inaction, where safety hazards are ignored rather than addressed, potentially resulting in serious incidents. Safety leaders need to empower their teams, ensuring that everyone understands their role in maintaining a safe work environment.

In The Five Hazardous Attitudes, Brown not only identifies these mindsets but also provides practical tools for addressing them. “The book delineates each of the five hazardous attitudes very clearly with compelling fables and stories,” he explains. Each story is followed by what Brown calls “attitude adjustments,” offering actionable steps and strategies to help leaders and workers alike recognize and overcome these destructive tendencies.

Brown recounts a particular student who exhibited all five of these attitudes. “As a flight instructor, we are that first and even sometimes last line of defense to make sure that someone who should not get a pilot license does not get one,” he recalls. Ultimately, the student was denied a pilot’s license—a decision that underscores the critical role leaders play in preventing hazardous attitudes from taking root.

For health and safety leaders, The Five Hazardous Attitudes is a resource for enhancing workplace safety. “We can learn costly lessons from the characters in the book without having to pay the price ourselves,” says Brown, who aims to equip readers with the knowledge and tools needed to identify and manage these attitudes, ensuring that safety is always a priority.