by Robin Crow
As we all know, enthusiasm is another primary key to leadership. Everyone has heard stories about the enthusiasm and spirit of Southwest Airlines, but over the last ten years I've had the opportunity to view that airline from the inside out. My sister, Laura, works at the Dallas corporate headquarters as an Employee Communication Publications Team Leader...which really means she's a writer for the monthly news magazine.
Of course Employee Communication Publications Team Leader does have a good ring to it. For years, Laura has told me stories about Herb Kelleher, the founder and chairman of the board of Southwest. She talked about how his enthusiasm has permeated the company with his eccentric but lovable and very effective style of leadership.
Laura's office is just down the hall from Herb's. She says it's not uncommon for him to see her, give her a hug and say, "I simply don't know what this company would do without you." IMAGINE THAT.
Nothing could be more motivating. And she pays him back with loyalty beyond compare. She could earn two or three times as much using her journalism skills elsewhere, but she won't even consider it. That kind of loyalty is priceless.
Once, when my travels took me through Dallas, Laura and I went out for a Saturday dinner at a Mexican restaurant just a few miles from the Southwest Airlines corporate headquarters. I asked if I could see where she works. When we entered the building, which is home to over 3,000 employees, I noticed over the elevator, etched in glass, was the Southwest Airlines mission statement.
"The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and Company Spirit."
Nothing too unusual about that, except for the fact it didn't even mention planes. Then, as I walked off the elevator onto the second floor, I was overwhelmed by these endless hallways which were filled with thousands of pictures. I wish you could have been there.
There were photos of employees at charity ballgames, Christmas parties and company picnics. There were letters from celebrities and business competitors. There were articles and clippings about Southwest as well as posters and brochures from the early days when the airline was just getting started.
HERE'S THE STORY
When Southwest Airlines built their headquarters about 15 years ago, they decided to fill their walls with photos and memorabilia. President Colleen Barrett (known as the "heart" of the company) began the tradition of asking employees to submit their own mementos to represent their personal lives and their experiences at Southwest.
The result is basically an enormous company scrapbook. I saw a cheerleading uniform, an old flight attendant uniform, and my favorite, a crushed tuba (although it did make me think twice about checking my guitar as luggage) - all matted and framed behind glass.
Each picture is a piece of what makes Southwest Airlines one of the most extraordinary companies in the world. These halls went on seemingly forever. Imagine, it's a five-story building and those photos are on every level, floor to ceiling. There was one hallway completely devoted to photos of employees and their pets.
It was like the Smithsonian of employee appreciation. But as I started looking more closely at the photos, I noticed that most of them included at least one picture with Herb hanging out with that employee at a staff picnic or some other celebration - always laughing and having a great time.
It became so obvious to me that Herb's enthusiasm and spirit of celebration is at the core of what Southwest stands for as a company. And let me tell you, at Southwest they know how to celebrate. They know the importance of having fun at work.
Laura says that it's not uncommon to see a spontaneous parade marching through headquarters in the middle of a busy workday, or to see a department playing a game of hackey sack in the hallway or testing out their long jump skills. As all this was sinking in I began to understand why Southwest's mission statement focused in on "Customer Service, individual pride and Company Spirit" over talking about airplanes. Southwest Airlines is all about people serving people.
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