Herb Kelleher Leadership
Herb Kelleher (1931- )
The co-founder and chief executive 1982-2001 of Southwest Airlines (pictured right), who made
it into America’s most successful airline with its low prices and great customer service.
Why was he such a great leader?
1. Employees first
Kelleher realized that the key to his airline’s success was the spirit and
commitment of his employees.
So he put:
(because he believed, if you take care of employees, they will take care of the
customer and so make profits for shareholders).
2. Motivating and empowering people
Kelleher gave employees the freedom to ‘do the right thing’ for customers through:
a) training
He trained employees well.
b) information
He gave employees all the information they needed
c) recruitment and selection
He recruited the right people (dedicated to change and customers with a sense of fun).
d) a family atmosphere
(with mutual trust and respect between managers and employees)
This was helped by:
- constant two-way communication with employees.
Pictured right is Kelleher having fun with some employees!
e) motivation and co-operation - by:
- treating employees with dignity and respect (e.g. no
layoffs).
- emphasizing the airline’s moral purpose (serving people) – he wisely realized that
employees are turned on by people not profit.
- rewards, communication and constant recognition for
good work.
- employee share ownership (encouraging people to suggest cost savings and customer
service ideas to boost profits).
- the Work A Mile programme – people doing somebody else’s job for a day that
increased mutual understanding and support.
3. Servant leadership
“The best leader is the best server”, he said, emphasizing his belief that leadership is about serving
people (employees and customers).
So he:
- listened to customers and employees
- found out what they wanted (e.g. customers preferred low prices to free meals).
His strategy was based on:
Flexible, broad aims to achieve his vision of a customer driven, low
price/cost and fun airline.
He didn't have detailed plans that would quickly become obsolete in the airline industry’s rapidly changing
environment.
Therefore, his actions resulted from change and integrity (living by his principles).
“You can change your practices, not your principles”, he said.
4. Charisma with humility
He was a larger than life character with a great sense of humour
He once dressed up as Elvis Presley at a company party (pictured right)!
He loved life, and he wanted his employees to have fun, too.
For example, he encouraged his flight attendants to tell jokes and sing hellos and good-byes over the
speakers!
His humility added to his appeal. He always:
- treated people as equals.
- accepted that you can always improve, however successful you are.
People mattered much, much more to him than power.
“You should never become infatuated with power”, he said.
5. Revolutionary
He often went in the opposite direction to other airlines. For example:
- direct selling to customers (bypassing travel agents).
- providing customers with no free meals.
- encouraging flight staff to have a
fun and relaxed attitude (until 1980 female flight attendants
wore hot pants).
- only buying one aircraft (the Boeing 737, pictured right in 1983) to significantly reduce
training and maintenance costs.
- having a low level of debt (to keep interest payments down and make the airline
less vulnerable to bad times, as in 1990-4).
6. Ready to act
He was always ready for every situation, preparing and evaluating the different possible future
scenarios facing his airline.
He also made decisions with courage and lightning speed (to grab
market opportunities before competitors did).
He won a 3½ year legal battle with his competitors to start flying in 1971.
7. Encouraging creativity
He believed that the airline’s entrepreneurial spirit was vital to its success.
So he got great ideas to lower costs and improve customer service from:
- customers (particularly from their letters).
- employees (encouraging them to take the initiative to find new and better ways of
doing things).
His down-to-earth charm and constant communication made it
easier for people to approach him with improvements (see right).
Key quote on
customers
We are not an airline with great customer service. We are a great customer organization that happens to be in
the airline business.
Key quote on service-profit
chain
Treat your people well and they’ll treat you well.
Don’t ever doubt in the customer service business the importance of people and their attitudes
Key quote on business
success
Your spirit is the most powerful thing of all.
Key quote on objectives
The thing you can’t buy is dedication, devotion, loyalty – feeling you are participating in a cause or a
crusade.
Key quote on human resource management
The business of business is people.
Key quote on
management
Manage in good times so that you’re ready for bad times.
Key quote on
leadership
The best leader is the best server.
Key quotes on corporate
culture
Nothing kills your company’s culture like layoffs.
You can change your practices, not your principles.
A big thank you to...
Two articles by Herb Kelleher have been particularly useful:
The Chairman of the Board Looks Back, Fortune magazine 28/5/2001 (co-written with Katrina Brooker)
A Culture of Commitment, Leader to Leader journal, Spring 1997.
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