Sara Fitchett of AerFin on Leadership, Self-Awareness and the Upcoming ISTAT EMEA Workshop
By ISTAT Staff
09 June 2026
Leadership development is an increasingly important conversation across aviation as organizations navigate workforce transitions, evolving expectations and changing ways of working. At the upcoming ISTAT EMEA workshop in partnership with AerFin, attendees will take part in a session designed to help them better understand their leadership and communication styles while exploring how those insights can strengthen collaboration and career growth.
The session will be facilitated by Sara Fitchett, global learning and development director at AerFin, who has spent more than 20 years working in learning and development across multiple industries. Ahead of the event, Jetrader spoke with Fitchett about her background, what attendees can expect from the workshop and how the Insights Discovery assessment can help professionals better understand themselves and others.
Jetrader: Tell us a little about your role at AerFin and how you got into leadership development and facilitation.
Sara Fitchett (SF): I’ve spent more than 20 years working in learning and development across a number of industries, much of that within highly regulated environments. I am now the learning and development director at AerFin, where I lead the strategic direction of leadership, learning and capability development across our global business.
What excites me most about aviation is the unique blend of experience, expertise and emerging talent that exists within the industry. We have seasoned professionals who have built decades of knowledge and insight, alongside the next generation of leaders who are beginning to shape their careers. Creating opportunities for those cohorts to learn from one another is incredibly powerful.
Leadership capability is something I’m deeply passionate about. In many organizations, including aviation, the transition from individual contributor to leader and then from leader to leader of leaders can be one of the most challenging career shifts people make. Supporting individuals through those transitions and helping them build the skills, confidence and self-awareness to lead effectively is where I believe learning and development can have the greatest impact.
Jetrader: What can attendees expect from the ISTAT EMEA Workshop session?
SF: We’ve designed the session to be highly interactive, practical and, most importantly, centered on personal growth.
The workshop is split into two distinct parts. The first focuses on self-awareness through Insights Discovery, a globally recognized psychometric tool that helps individuals better understand their communication style, strengths, preferences and impact on others.
Ahead of the session, attendees will complete a short online evaluator. From that, they’ll receive a personalized profile that provides valuable insight into how they work, communicate, make decisions and build relationships. It often gives people language for things they’ve instinctively known about themselves but perhaps never fully understood.
The second part of the workshop brings those insights to life through a mock aviation simulation. Participants will work in teams to navigate a complex business challenge, stepping into leadership roles and perspectives that may sit outside of their day-to-day responsibilities.
The combination of self-awareness and practical application creates a powerful learning experience. Attendees won’t simply learn more about themselves; they’ll have an opportunity to test, adapt and apply those insights in a realistic business environment.
Ultimately, the session is about helping individuals become more effective leaders, collaborators and contributors, regardless of where they are in their career journey.
Jetrader: You’ve facilitated many Insights Discovery sessions over the years. Are there any “a-ha” moments participants tend to experience?
SF: Having facilitated Insights Discovery with many leaders and professionals over the last decade, there are some themes that consistently emerge.
The first is simply how accurately people feel the profile reflects them. Time and again, participants tell me that they are surprised by how a relatively short evaluator can produce such a detailed and insightful profile. The response is often, "How does it know that about me?"
The second is the realization that many of the behaviors they’ve viewed as weaknesses are simply preferences or strengths that may need to be adapted depending on the situation. Insights takes a very balanced and constructive approach, which helps people view themselves with greater confidence and self-awareness.
At AerFin, we’ve made a conscious decision to provide Insights Discovery to all colleagues across the entire organization, from new starters through to our executive team. That’s because self-awareness shouldn’t be reserved for leadership positions; it benefits everyone.
One of my favorite moments is when participants share their profile with someone they trust, whether that’s a colleague, partner, friend or family member. Those conversations often unlock a completely different level of reflection. People begin to recognize patterns, strengths and behaviors that they may never have fully appreciated before.
For many, Insights Discovery is a genuinely personal moment of self-discovery.
Jetrader: What practical takeaways do you hope attendees leave with after the workshop?
SF: I hope attendees leave with a deeper understanding of themselves. Self-awareness is one of the most powerful foundations of effective leadership. When we understand our values, motivations, strengths and potential blind spots, we are better equipped to make decisions, build relationships and navigate our careers with greater confidence.
The second takeaway is around collaboration. Insights Discovery provides a common language that helps people better understand not only themselves, but also the perspectives and preferences of others. In an industry that relies on strong relationships and cross-functional collaboration, that understanding can be incredibly valuable.
At AerFin, we believe development only creates value when it is applied. A profile sitting in your inbox won’t change anything. The real opportunity comes from using those insights to strengthen relationships, improve communication, navigate challenges more effectively and ultimately become a more impactful leader.
My hope is that attendees leave with practical actions they can immediately apply in their roles, while also gaining a clearer sense of where they want their careers to go and how they can continue to grow.
Jetrader: What is some leadership advice you’ve received throughout your career that has stuck with you? And, since you’ve taken Insights Discovery yourself, was there anything you learned about yourself that surprised you?
SF: Two prominent pieces of advice have had a lasting impact on me. What strikes me now is that the people who shared them probably had no idea how significant those moments would become. It serves as a reminder that as leaders, managers and colleagues, the feedback and encouragement we give can stay with someone for years and shape how they see themselves and what they believe they’re capable of achieving.
The first was simple but so powerful: “If you’re invited to the meeting, your voice belongs in the room.” Your perspective is unique, and your contribution matters. Early in my career, that advice gave me the confidence to speak up, challenge constructively and recognize the value I can bring.
The second was that being busy is not the same as making progress. Strong leaders create space to think. They understand where they’re trying to get to, work backwards from the outcome they want to achieve and focus their energy on what will have the greatest impact. They learn to prioritize, delegate and say no when necessary.
In today’s increasingly VUCA world, one characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, I think that advice becomes more valuable as time goes on. Leadership is about ensuring that you are focused on what matters most and enabling others to do the same.
Insights has been part of my professional life for over a decade, and I’ve completed the profile several times throughout my career. What’s been most interesting is seeing what has remained consistent and what has evolved.
On the whole, my profile has remained consistent over the years, despite the different roles, challenges and life stages. That’s one of the key principles behind Insights: that while we grow, develop and gain experience, our fundamental preferences tend to remain relatively consistent over time.
The most noticeable shift for me came during COVID-19. Like many people, I moved from a highly collaborative office environment to working remotely. That required me to become much more structured, analytical and detail-oriented than I had previously been.
What Insights helped me recognize was that while my natural style hadn’t changed, I had developed additional capabilities to respond to a very different environment. It reinforced an important lesson for me that effective leadership isn’t about changing who you are or being inauthentic; it is about understanding yourself well enough to adapt when the situation requires it.
Learn more about and register for the ISTAT EMEA workshop, “Leading the Way Ahead: A Practical Toolkit for Confident, Reliable and Progressive Leadership.”
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