Question

What is an example of a business, organization, or situation where team leadership could be applied successfully? Please explain your example.

Answer 1

Southwest is known for its customer service. In an industry fraught with awful customer service, Southwest distanced itself from other airlines by putting the customer first, no matter what the situation.

On September 11, 2001, airlines were forced to shut down for days while the rest of the nation recovered from the terrorist attacks. This meant that all airline passengers, flight attendants and pilots were stranded with the planes across the country. Instead of merely sitting and waiting, Southwest employees were encouraged to take passengers bowling or to the movies to pass the time.

Many airlines started cutting jobs in the months following 9/11. The airline industry had been badly damaged, and many airlines were forced to cut their workforce by up to 20 percent. Instead of following the trend, Southwest announced only three days after 9/11 that Southwest would keep all of their employees and start a $179.8 million profit-sharing program for employees.

Southwest CEO James Parker believed that because Southwest had built its company on sound business principles for the past 30 years, they were able to handle crisis better than other airlines.