Debbie Curl-Nagy – Senior Solutions Consultant When an organization needs instructors, it looks to its best performers. It’s a pattern repeated across industries, and aviation is no exception. The most experienced crew members, the technically proficient operators, and the people who have seen it all and done it well are the ones who get promoted into training roles.
This logic is flawed not because subject matter experts lack value, but because technical expertise and instructional capability are fundamentally different skill sets. Conflating the two can produce mediocre trainers and measurable gaps in knowledge transfer that show up on the line in safety outcomes, operational performance, and the quality of the passenger experience.
A more deliberate, research-backed approach for transforming subject matter experts into high-performing cabin crew instructors requires focusing on building core instructional competencies and a more intentional selection and development process.
The skills that make someone exceptional at a technical job are not the same skills that make them effective at developing others. High performers tend to operate automatically. Their decision-making is fast, intuitive, and largely invisible, and they often internalize processes to the point where they no longer notice the individual steps. This is precisely what makes them good at what they do, but it also makes them difficult to learn from.
The ability to engage a learner, structure content for comprehension, surface tacit decision-making, and provide targeted developmental feedback requires distinct skills that cannot be acquired through operational experience alone.
This isn’t a new observation in learning science, but it remains underapplied in operational training environments, particularly in aviation, where subject matter experts have historically been the default choice for instructor roles with limited additional preparation.
Turning strong performers into effective trainers starts with developing five core competencies.
Broaden the criteria for instructor selection. Though technical competence remains necessary, it’s not sufficient. Organizations should also look for communication skills, adaptability, and a genuine orientation toward helping others develop—qualities that can be assessed to predict instructional effectiveness more reliably than operational track record alone.
Resist the temptation to develop all skills at once. Focus on three to four core instructional skills and build from there. Overloading newly appointed instructors with comprehensive training programs before they’ve acquired foundational capabilities is a common and counterproductive mistake.
Observe instructors in action and provide structured feedback and coaching on their instructional performance. Though resource intensive, this is where the greatest gains are made. This requires time, trained observers, and a culture that treats instructor development as an ongoing process rather than a one-time induction. Instructors who receive regular, targeted feedback on their teaching consistently evolve their approach. Those who don’t tend to revert to their default mode of telling, demonstrating, and hoping that their expertise is contagious.
Delivering expertise informs learners, but translating that same expertise through training transforms them. The difference isn’t the depth of the subject matter expert’s knowledge; it’s the quality of the instructional process through which that knowledge reaches the learner.
For organizations in the simulation and training sector, this has direct implications. Realizing the full value of investments in high-fidelity training environments, realistic scenarios, and advanced assessment tools requires the instructors operating within those environments to transfer what they know. Technology creates the conditions for effective training. Instructional capability determines whether those conditions are used well.
Instead of selecting instructors by asking who knows the most, start asking who helps others perform. This small shift can produce substantial outcomes on the line and in the cabin.
This article was inspired by Debbie Curl-Nagy’s presentation on “Transforming SMEs into High-Performing Cabin Crew Instructors: A Competency-Based, Evidence-Driven Approach” at the 2026 World Aviation Training Summit. Want to chat with Debbie or another TiER1 aviation expert? Fill out the form at the bottom of this page.