4
Communities of Leadership: Gary Kelly’s Southwest Airlines
No comments · Posted by Scott in Case Studies
Many commentators have praised Southwest Airlines (Gary Kelly, CEO) over the years, but in community-of-leadership terms, Southwest still looks to me like the world’s most successful airline.
Southwest has been profitable for 37 years, a miracle in the airline business. Needless to say, it’s never gone bankrupt, unlike most of its domestic rivals. It steadfastly operates a successful business model, the envy of the industry, one studiously copied by other low-cost airlines. Its customer proposition of low fares; speedy, efficient, no-frills transportation; and friendly, good-humored, self-deprecating customer service has been a winning formula for years.
Recently, it has famously gone against the grain by refusing to charge customers for a basic baggage allowance, and by its own estimates has picked up $1 billion in revenues, significant market share, and a lot of customer gratitude and loyalty as a result.
It did recently have a well-publicized social media spat with a passenger it deemed too large to fit in one seat, but from what I saw, Southwest saw it had handled the case poorly at first and moved quickly to apologize, while standing by its reasonable policy for handling passengers who may not fit well into a standard seat.
Southwest is heavily unionised; apparently its labour negotiations have sometimes been quite tough. But in recent press reports, its union leaders have indicated a tough-minded respect for CEO Kelly’s integrity and approach. The company talks convincingly about having a Warrior Spirit, a Servant’s Heart, and a Fun-LUVing attitude. It seems to be genuinely proud of its people. I’ve flown Southwest, and the experience was as efficient and friendly as advertised.
Here’s a customer vignette. It comes from Southwest’s website, but I like the tone, and I like the way they give this story prominence.
“Operation: Kick-Tail Recognition
One of our Baltimore/Washington Flight Attendants and a Houston Captain made a huge impression on a Customer during a winter-weather delayed flight. The Customer noticed the Flight Attendant approach an elderly man sitting by himself in the gate area while waiting for the flight. When our Employee found out the man hadn’t eaten, he brought food back to the Customer. Then, onboard the flight, a Customer became distressed due to a fear of flying. Our Flight Attendant knew there was an off-duty Captain in the cabin, and he solicited the Pilot’s assistance with the upset Customer. The Customer writes that the Captain ‘gave one of the best talks about the safety of air travel I have ever heard. I fly a few times a month, and even I felt better about flying after hearing him.’ Like the Flight Attendanct, the Captain ‘went above and beyond to help a Southwest Passenger in need.’ The Customer closes: ‘These two folks remind me why I am proud to fly Southwest.’”
Here is a link recent profile of Kelly from yesterday’s Los Angeles Times (thanks to the SmartBrief.com service for bringing this article to my attention.)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-southwest-20100503-20,0,6514547,full.story
The growing list of Interesting Communities of Leadership is athttp://lovingwork.org/interesting-communities-of-leadership
Scott is scott@lovingwork.org and @scottdowns3 on Twitter.
business · customers · leadership · love · people · service · soul · Southwest Airlines · values
