Herb kelleher leadership style
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Herb spent lots of time on the frontline. “We can change skill levels through training. With this in mind, Kelleher put a premium on personality. He once arm-wrestled an executive from another company to settle a legal dispute and never hid his fondness for cigarettes and bourbon.
Southwest Airlines’ Herb Kelleher, A Pioneer in Servant Leadership
This week in class we were introduced to the theory of servant leadership.
He showed up at company parties dressed as Elvis Presley, invited employees to a weekly cookout, handled baggage during the Thanksgiving rush, and brought doughnuts to a hangar at 4:00 a.m. What a visionary he was. See, these leaders are ethical and they often place the needs of their followers over their own (Northouse, 2021). From prioritizing people to creating a culture of fun and innovation, we'll dive into the insights that made Kelleher one of the most beloved leaders in business history.
Veteran Southwest pilot Larry Lonero said, “Herb Kelleher was… a very operationally oriented leader.
(That was before we took off, of course.) I’ve had hundreds of small, positive gestures on Southwest.
This is the legacy of Southwest Airlines’ cofounder and CEO: business success with satisfied employees, customers, and shareholders.
Rest in peace, Herb Kelleher.
John
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Photo Credit: Southwest Airlines
Herb Kelleher's Leadership Legacy: How People-First Culture Transformed Southwest Airlines
Herb Kelleher, the co-founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, was a leader like no other.
Servant leaders want to see their followers succeed for the greater good of the organization but also the community and society overall (Northouse, 2021). Kelleher said, “Your employees come first. The art of servant leadership. Forbes. We were a tight operation from top to bottom. In other words, servant leaders foster environments in which their followers can achieve self-actualization (Northouse, 2021).
Everything that was needed to run a first-class operation. It was extremely eye-opening in terms of understanding servant leadership and how it can be implemented into organizations and I find it helpful to see real world applications of our lesson material.
-Colton
References
Freiberg, K., & Freiberg, J. (2019, January 4).
Yet he was considered a visionary business leader whose record of sustained success at Southwest led Fortune magazine to ask on its cover, “Is Herb Kelleher America’s Best CEO?”
This is why Kelleher’s legacy offers many great lessons in leadership such as:
Follow a successful model
There is a mythical story that Kelleher and his business partners devised Southwest on a cocktail napkin.
At Southwest he created a “culture of commitment” devoted to the happiness of employees. Herb once said the biggest threat to Southwest Airlines will come from within. to schmooze with his airline’s mechanics.
He once arm-wrestled an executive from another company to settle a legal dispute and never hid his fondness for cigarettes and bourbon.
SHRM.