■Aninformationgatheringmeetingisheld,atwhichbothsidesoftheconflictputforwardtheirperspectivesontheissuesinvolved—Manytimes,conflictssortthemselvesoutatthisstagemainlybecausebettercommunicationisachieved.
■Iftheconflictisstillunresolved,themanagersholdwhatiscalledunofficiallya“CometoJesus”meeting—Thisisaface-to-facemeetingthattakesanentireday.Bytheendofthismeeting,mostproblemshavebeenabletoberesolvedbecauseofthedialoguethattakesplacebetweentheconflictingpartiesandthemanagers.
Theoverallprocesssoundssimple,butwhenwellimplemented,conflictresolutionbecomesmoreofateambuildingexerciseandlessofasourceofdestructiveenergy.NotethatSouthwesttakesaproactiveapproachtoresolvingdisputes,andneverleavestheseconflictsanddifferencesasbackgroundissues.
BridgetheWork-familyDivide
TheSouthwestworkenvironmentisstructuredinmanywayslikeabigextendedfamily.Becausepeoplesharecommongoalsandexchangeknowledgefreelyinanatmosphereoftrustandmutualrespect,astrongbondforms.Thisisgoodbecauseitbringsmoreenergyintotheworkplace.Southwestemployeesareencouragedtoformgoodfriendshipswiththepeopletheyworkwith,blurringtheboundariesbetweenworkandlife.Thatway,Southwestemployeesidentifystronglywiththecompanyandthinkofitasanextensionoftheirownfamilies.SohowdoesSouthwestbridgethegapbetweenwhataper-sondoesatworkandwhattheydointheirownprivatetime?
■Peopleareencouragedtobethemselves—whichallowsthemtopersonalizethewaytheygoabouttheirdutiesandresponsibilities.
■Southwesthasa“CatastrophicFund”—whichanyemployeecanaccessintimesofpersonalpain.Bynotonlyrecognizingtheneedsoftheemployee,butalsodoingsomethingtangibletohelp,Southwestmakesemployeesfeeltheorganizationcanbedependedon.
■EverySouthweststationhasitsown“CultureCommittee”—whomeetmonthlytoplansocialevents(atwhichSouthwestemployeesgettoknoweachother)andcharitableevents(inwhichthecompanygivessomethingbacktothecommunity).Throughtheseevents,theSouthwestcultureisfurtherstrengthenedandsomegoodcommunitycausesreceivebacking.
■Southwestallowsandencouragesshifttrading—allowingemployeestovarytheirschedulessotheycanmeetotherfamilyobligations.Inthisway,thecompanydemonstratesthatworkshouldnotoverwhelmorsupercedefamilyandcommunityrelationships.
CreatePositionsThatSpanBoundaries
Boundaryspannersarepeoplewhobringtogetherinformationfromdifferentoperatingunitsofthebusiness.Agoodboundaryspannerwillhelpbuildrelationshipsbetweendifferentpartsoftheorganizationaroundcommongoalsandmutualrespectsotheorganizationwilloperatemorecohesively.
Mostcompaniesuseinformationtechnologyasaplatformforsharinginformationamongbusinessunits.Southwesttakestheoppositeapproach.Ithasstrengthenedtheroleofon-siteoperationsagents,whoareresponsibleforturningaroundeachSouthwestflightasrapidlyaspossible.Inaddition,Southwest'soperationsagentshandlejustoneflightturnaroundatatime,asopposedtotheoperationsagentsatotherairlineswhomayeachberesponsibleforthreetofifteenflightsatanyonetime.Boundaryspannersaregoodbecause:
■Theytendtotakeamoreholisticperspective—whereaspeoplecloselyinvolvedinrunningoneoranotherfunctionrarelyhavethetimetostopandconsiderthebiggerpicture.Boundaryspannerscansharethatbroaderviewpointtohelpothersworkmoreeffectively.
■Theybuildrelationshipsacrossboundaries—meaningtherewillbeabroadersenseofsharedidentityandsharedvisionamongpartieswhointerestsmaynotalwaysmeshtogether.Asaresult,collectiveactionsbecomemoreeffective.
■Theyplayakeysocialrole—sincetheyrepresentthepointatwhichtheeffortsofoneunitmeshwiththoseofotherunits.Byhavingareallivepersoninthisroleratherthanacomputer,thereistheopportunityforrelationshipstogrowandbestrengthened.Ineffect,theboundaryspannerputsahumanfaceonthecombinedworkofbothteams.
■Theyprovideflexibility—inthatifoneteamhasatemporaryworkimpediment,theboundaryspannercansuggestwaysinwhichotherpartsofthebusinessmaybeabletocompensate.
UseBroadPerformanceMetrics
Somefirmsspendmoretimeanalyzingwhichdepartmentisatfaultwhenproblemsoccurthantheydoontryingtofixtheproblemitself.Southwestavoidsthisbymeasuringperformancebroadly.Thatway,whenthingsgowrong,thereismoreofadesiretolearnhowtoavoidarepeatoftheprobleminthefuturethanthereistoapportionblame.
Thekeytorunninganairlineprofitablyistoavoidplaneturnarounddelays.Atmostairlines,wheneveradelayoccurs,theyanalyzewhetheritwascausedbytherefuellers,thebaggagehandlers,therampagentsoranotherfunctionaldepartment.Asaresult,itiscommonpracticeforeachofthesefunctionalteamstorushtofinishtheirtaskssotheywon'tgettheblameforanydelays.Thiscan,attimes,becounterproductivebecause: