In business aviation, tradition holds value. It fosters safety, honors experience and shapes how we lead. But sometimes tradition narrows our view, especially when it defines who is “qualified” to lead a flight department.
For example, there’s a long-standing, often unspoken assumption in our industry: The Director of Aviation (DoA) should be a pilot.
Many professionals with deep operational experience bring the leadership, judgment and technical acumen to excel in the top seat. Yet they’re often overlooked—especially those in maintenance, scheduling, dispatch and safety.
Why? Not because they’re unqualified, but because the industry still equates leadership with time on the flight deck. That’s where bias—often unconscious—enters the equation.
What the DOA Role Requires
Leadership today demands far more than flying skills. The best aviation directors are:
- Strategically minded
- Financially savvy
- Operationally grounded
- People-focused
- Safety conscious
None of those attributes is exclusive to pilots. Many of them are sharpened outside the flight deck. Take Directors of Maintenance. They manage large budgets, lead technical teams, oversee inspections and ensure regulatory compliance. They deal with high-stakes decisions daily. These are the same demands placed on aviation directors.
Bias in Hiring: Comfortable Doesn’t Mean Correct
When hiring managers default to “we’ve always hired pilots,” they may unintentionally screen out high-potential leaders. It’s not always deliberate, but it’s limiting.
Bias in hiring isn’t always about exclusion. Sometimes it’s about habit, favoring the familiar over the qualified.
We need to ask: Are we hiring for what the role needs, or what tradition has told us it should look like?
Proven Paths Outside the Flight Deck
Some of today’s most effective Directors of Aviation have backgrounds in maintenance, finance, operations or scheduling. Their routes may differ, but the results speak for themselves.
They bring a ground-up understanding of how departments run. They lead with context, credibility and cross-functional insight—and more collaboration.
Their success proves a clear point: Leadership isn’t about where you started; it’s about what you’ve learned and how you lead.
What Hiring Leaders Can Do Differently
If you play a role in hiring or developing leaders, consider doing the following:
- Review role requirements. Are flying duties part of the job?
- Expand your candidate pool. Are you open to non-traditional paths?
- Track your hiring patterns. Is bias—conscious or not—shaping outcomes?
- Invest in development. Are you preparing strong leaders across all functions?
We don’t need to lower standards. We need to broaden our lens.
The Future of Aviation Leadership
Business aviation is evolving, so should our thinking around leadership. By challenging outdated assumptions—and valuing strengths across the department—we make room for capable, confident leaders who bring a full-picture view of the operation.
Leadership should reflect readiness, not résumé tradition. The future of aviation depends on it.
Jennifer E. Pickerel is President of Aviation Personnel International, the longest-running business aviation recruitment and HR consulting firm. Active in aviation leadership groups, she frequently speaks and writes on hiring trends, culture, inclusion and employee retention.