Since reading about Herb Kelleher and his company Southwest Airlines in the book “Nuts” several years ago I have been enamored with their company. The particular culture that Kelleher instills Southwest with is described completely in the leadership style servant leadership.
Kelleher epitomizes what a servant leader is. His concept for a successful business started with making customers happy and treating everyone as you expect them to treat you, with respect. There is no “chain of command” when it comes to problems, and there is always an open door policy with Kelleher when it comes to helping an employee solve a problem. He offers emotional healing and gives support to everyone on his staff.
Other behaviors of Kelleher include putting followers first, helping followers grow and succeed, and empowering subordinates. In fact, Kelleher doesn’t even call followers by that title, they are called collaborators. Kevin and Jackie Freeberg write in the biography Nuts!, “We think that collaborators better describes the people of Southwest Airlines because, when it comes to leadership, they jump in with both feet! They are active and they are engaged, regardless of which side of the leadership relationship they are on.” (Freiberg, p. 299). A great example of these behaviors can be best shown by describing a specific program that was designed by a Southwest pilot which helps to educate employees called the “Cutting Edge Program”. The “Cutting Edge Program” is designed to take employees from one job and teach them the other jobs. By teaching all employees other jobs you: 1) create empathy among employees 2) create new grounds for collaboration to work together and think up new processes to help production 3) create opportunities for learning (Freiberg, pp 114-116).
In an interview (posted below) Southwest Airlines’ Colleen Barrett, who has been with Southwest since it’s inceptions says that Southwest, “Started with an idea to make the world a better place……and [help people] achieve their dreams.” which aligns perfectly with another core behavior of servant leadership which is creating value for the community.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TgR95vnM0c]
While the foundation of this leadership style doesn’t necessarily prove the success or failure of the organization at the very least, “…their organizations are healthier, ultimately benefiting society.” and “…the long-term outcomes of putting others first include positive social change and helping society flourish.” which is what Kelleher has proven with the culture he has created.
While it hasn’t always been easy to be a servant leader, putting in in 16 hour days, 7 days a week, Kelleher and Barrett have fun at their job and the success of the company speaks for itself (Freiberg p. 310).
Listed below is the culture/values that Southwest employees live by.
Live the Southwest Way
Warrior Spirit
- Work Hard
- Desire to be the best
- Be courageous
- Display urgency
- Persevere
- Innovate
Servant’s Heart
- Follow The Golden Rule
- Adhere to the Principles
- Treat others with respect
- Put others first
- Be egalitarian
- Demonstrate proactive Customer Service
- Embrace the SWA Family
Fun-LUVing Attitude
- Have FUN
- Don’t take yourself too seriously
- Maintain perspective
- Celebrate successes
- Enjoy your work
- Be a passionate Teamplayer
Work the Southwest Way
- Safety and Reliability
- Friendly Customer Service
- Low Cost
References:
Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/careers/culture.html
Freiberg, K., & Freiberg, J. (1998). Nuts!: Southwest Airlines’ crazy recipe for business and personal success. New York: Broadway Books.
Rykrsmith, E. (2010, September 10). What Is Servant Leadership? Thoughts from Southwest Airlines President, Colleen Barrett. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2010/09/20/what-is-servant-leadership-thoughts-from-southwest-airlines-president-colleen-barrett/
Great post! I think it’s important to see how this leadership theory is being utilized today, and with a company who is successfully utilizing it and I really liked your example.
I also agree that this can and will be seen as one being fake if the actions are not genuine. We hear politicians say things all the time that could be seen as servant leadership but then the actions don’t follow suite.
More companies would benefit greatly from this style of leadership. Sometimes all it takes is a genuine interest in your employees to see a difference in their dedication to making the organization better.
Thank you for posting this! I am very interested in servant leadership, so I will certainly be checking out Kelleher’s biography. I had read that Southwest was a great company to work for, but never really heard any kind of specifics before this. It is nice to see servant leadership working so well in such a large company.
One thing that comes to mind, however, is that this type of leadership can be seen as fake if not followed through. Many companies could write out a list of rules like Southwest did, and I think many actually do, but these behaviors are not always modeled in reality by administration. So, employees don’t get true servant leadership and therefore they see it all as a ruse to make the company look better. When I was younger, I worked part time for a large retailer that tried really hard to make it seem like they provided servant leadership. They made us all call each other team members, and the customers guests, while holding employee “huddles” at the beginning of each shift. These huddles were for general knowledge about the day, but also an opportunity for staff to come to management with any problems or concerns. Unfortunately, if someone did speak up, their concerns were often swept under the rug and not really addressed. They also preached employee growth but rarely promoted from within. As a result, many of my fellow “team members” became jaded and ended up with a worse attitude towards management than before this program started. So, I think it’s very important for a company to follow through with these concepts relating to servant leadership rather than just preaching them. And if Southwest is actually doing that, I give them a lot of credit. Thanks again for posting this – and what a great video as well!