10OrganizationalRelationships
OutstandingBusinessLeadership
Whileit'struethateveryorganizationwouldliketohaveacharismaticleader,thatisn'tnecessarilyaprerequisitetosuccess.Goodandeffectivebusinessleadersmusthave:
■Credibility—theabilitytoinspiretrustintheirworkers.Abusinessleaderwilldevelopcredibilityovertimeratherthanallatonce.Credibilityisbuiltuponedayatatimeoveranextendedperiodbutitcanbedissipatedinaninstantifbadjudgmentisexercisedinanattempttodeceiveemployees.Southwest'shighprofileformerCEO,HerbKelleher,exemplifiedcredibilitywithSouthwestemployeesbecausehehadalongandunbrokenhistoryofalwaystellingthingsliketheywere,withoutsugarcoating.Asaresult,Kelleherhadaveryhighdegreeofcredibilitywithintheorganization.
■Empathy—caringdeeplyforthewellbeingofemployees.Asdesirableascredibilityis,itisnotbyitselfsufficient.Outstandingbusinessleadersalsofindwaystodemonstrateconclusivelythattheycareaboutthewellbeingoftheirpeopleindividually.AtSouthwest,thisisdemonstratedbythefactthatthecompanyhasanolayoffrecordthattheyhavemaintainedeveninthefaceofthedramaticebbsandflowsoftheairlineindustry.ItisalsowellknownthatKelleherandCOOColleenBarrettarehappytobeapproachedbySouthwestemployeeswhoneedhelpindealingwiththeirpersonalproblems.Notonlydotheylisten,butKelleherandBarrettgetinvolvedhands-oninhelpingpeopledealwiththeirproblems.
InvestintheFront-lineLeader
Frontlineleadersarecriticaltothesuccessofanyorganizationbecausetheyworksidebysidewithotheremployees.Theyimpactdirectlyonthequalityandefficiencyofeverythingthatgetsdone.Tobuildgoodfrontlineleaders:
■Haveenoughleaders—sotheycanworkwithindividualsAtSouthwestAirlines,leadershipisadistributedprocess.Theseniormanagementteamiswellknowninthepublicarena,butmostoftherealmanagementworkgetscarriedoutbythesupervisorswhoworkonadailybasiswithfrontlineemployees.AtSouthwest,thereisonesupervisorforevery10to12frontlinepeople.
■Teachtheleadershowtoprovidecoachingandfeedback
ThisispossiblebecauseatSouthwest:
Thesupervisorsactas“playercoaches”inthattheyhavemanagerialresponsibility,buttheyalsoperformthesametasksasthefrontlineemployees.
Sincethesupervisorsworkalongsidetheemployees,theyhaveahighdegreeofcredibilityandinfluence.
Mostcoachingtakestheformofproblemsolvingandprovidingadvice,ratherthandiscipliningmistakes.
Supervisorsareprovidedwithleadershiptrainingsotheyknowhowtogoabouttheirresponsibilities.Theystartoutassupervisors-in-training,nextbecomefunctioningsupervisorsandthencontinuetoreceiveongoinginservicetrainingsessions.
HireandTrainforRelationshipExcellence
Southwestmakesadeliberateandconsciousefforttohirepeoplewhoaregoodatworkinginateam.Theorganizationthenworkshardatenhancingthoseteambuildingskillsbygivingthemtrainingforrelationalcompetence.
Insomebusinesses,thereisadeliberateattempttoattractandretainthehighperformersorsuperstars.Southwestdoesn'tevenattempttorecruittheelite.Instead,preferencewhenhiringisgiventonewpeoplewhowillbeabletointegratesmoothlywithothermembersonateam.Thereisadeliberateattempttofindpeoplewiththerightattitudesfirst,andthenprovidethemwiththeskillsandexperiencetheywillneedtoexcel.
Interestinglyanduniquely,Southwest'shiringprioritiesextendnotjusttothecustomerservicepeoplebutalsotomechanicsandpilots,twogroupsofpeoplewhoareusuallyhiredsolelyfortheirtechnicalskills.Toincreasetheprobabilityofhiringtherightpeople,therecruitmentprocessatSouthwest:
■Allowsatrialemploymentperiodbeforealong-termcommitmentismade—toallowbothSouthwestandthenewhiretolearnmoreabouteachotherbeforemakingafinaldecisionaboutemployment.
■Involvesongoingtraining—sothenewhirehasarealisticopportunitytobuildfunctionalexpertiseandteam-workcompetence.Thistrainingwillbeamixof:
Classroomwork—forthefirstweekortwo
On-the-jobtrainingfromasupervisor—twotothreeweeks
Mentoring—byanexperiencedperson
Regularperiodicsessionswiththetrainingcoordinator
■Focusesontheoverallworkprocess—sonewhiresgettounder-standhowtheirjobimpactsonthewayothersintheorganizationcandotheirs.
■Incorporatesregularjobexchanges—tobecomefamiliarwithwhathappensinotherdepartments.
■Stressesinternalpromotionasthepreferredwaytofillmanagementpositions—sincethatsendsalltherightsignalstotherank-and-fileemployees.
UseConflictstoBuildRelationships
Conflictsareafactoflife.Insteadofviewingconflictsasadestructiveforce,Southwestusesthemconstructivelytobuildrelationshipsandimproveperformance.Thecompanyisveryproactiveinidentifyingandresolvingconflicts.Toresolveconflicts,Southwesthasawelldefinedprocess:
■Thepartiesthemselvesareencouragedtouseeverymeansavailabletoresolvetheconflictthemselvesfirst—Ifthat'snotpossible,managersareexpectedtotakeanactiveroleindevelopingasuitablesolution.