Southwest Airlines: The Role Leadership Has Played
1.What role has leadership played in the success of Southwest Airlines?At the center of the leadership strategies of Southwest Airlines is the culture founder Herb Kelleher diligently worked to create with the other founders and first employees of the airline (Keidel, 2005). The founders realized that defining the values they wanted their company based on would best be permeated throughout the company culture through their example. They all, including Mr. Kelleher, are strong believers in leading through example (Hardage, 2006). What differentiated the leadership approach of Southwest relative to other low-cost airlines is the focus on a high-trust, knowledge-based strategies that give employees the freedom to transcend
All of these factors contributed to the rapid maturation of the Southwest culture and its strength today. What is the key to Southwest s continued success under leaders like Colleen Barrett who have followed Herb Kelleher?First, the culture has become ingrained with the values of being one based on a high-trust, high knowledge and this continues today with a culture committee that rotates employees from each business unit and department to keep it relevant and updated to the needs of the company (Laszlo, 1999). In an industry where customer expectations have risen while quality of service has degraded over recent years, Southwest s approach on giving employees the freedom to serve customers is revolutionary (Kochan, 2006). Kelleher and the founders of Southwest made the business model work by continually stressing the delivering of exceptional service every day an integral part of the company s culture. Effective and exemplary leaders see leadership as a responsibility and not a right based on title alone. Leaders who are very effective also have the ability to set realistic yet challenging goals, objectives and priorities. These values when adhered to consistently create credibility and trust over time and transform a manager into a leader. Herb Kelleher has successfully been able to create a strong sense of leadership within Southwest by first putting the center of focus not on him but on the customers, and in turn defining freedom of service to them excellently. Excellent leadership requires selflessness and an attitude of service, and these values permeate an organization if they are genuine. In what ways has Herb Kelleher exemplified Peter Drucker's notion of "old-fashion" leadership?Dr, Drucker s old fashioned leadership included the attributes of integrity and earned credibility on the part of leaders, in addition to the ability to define and establish a sense of mission. rules to serve customers as efficiently and completely as possible (Kochan, 2006).
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