Rail Director (October 2025): Beyond the Frontline - NTS in Station Leadership
Avanti West Coast and the OPC have pioneered extending Non-Technical Skills (NTS) to Station Managers, in a project that breaks new ground exploring how leadership behaviours can influence safety and performance at stations.
Why Station Managers?
While NTS programmes have traditionally focused on frontline safety-critical roles such as Train Drivers and Signallers, Avanti West Coast recognised that Station Managers also oversee complex, safety-critical activities. With rising passenger volumes and increased leisure travel post-COVID, the Station Directorate presented an opportunity to trial a new approach and further strengthen their station leadership. From coordinating train dispatch to managing disruption and passenger flow, Station Managers play a central role in both safety and service delivery.
In partnership with Avanti West Coast, OPC psychologists led research to profile the critical NTS for Station Managers. Through job analysis, a survey, and group discussions, the project identified the skills most important to success. Some key NTS highlighted were:
- Resilience.
- Emotional control.
- People-management behaviours, like fairness and open communication.
Five key NTS were then brought to life in a one-day workshop, where managers explored real-life station scenarios and created personal action plans using practical techniques from the OPC.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with more than 85% rating the workshop as either ‘Very Good’ or ‘Excellent’. Managers described the tools and techniques as practical and immediately useful in their roles.
"We're always exploring new ways to drive performance and make our stations safe and welcoming for customers. By focusing on our station leadership, the benefits of NTS can cascade throughout all station staff, helping drive safety culture and provide consistent journeys to, from, and through our stations."
Anita Brown, Head of Innovation and Engagement at Avanti West Coast
The full Rail Director feature shares the project in a little more detail, and Dr Stephen Fletcher reflects on why the project could be important to the wider rail industry.
You can read the full article here.
If you think the OPC could support the development of your Station Leadership team through NTS, get in touch with the friendly experts.