Case Study: Southwest Airlines presents today's hero- Colleen Barrett

This weekend was Super Bowl Sunday.  Amidst the fun festivities, there were case studies to read and papers to write.  This weekend, in my Strategy for Sustainability text we reviewed E in the TEN Strategy.  (As you may recall, T stood for Transparency). E stands for Engagement.  This reading about how an engaged workforce provides the best results and a bunch of happy campers paired nicely with a case study on Southwest Airlines.  I have to admit, after reading this case study, I was filled with inspiration, and perhaps even a wee bit envious when it came to their culture development strategies.  Their top three values are a warrior spirit, servant heart and fun-LUVing attitude.  It was interesting to read about their first couple of presidents- one known for his love of loud luau shirts, but commended for the time he spent among the people and knowing thousands by name.  It was around their third or fourth president that the first woman COO and president of a major U.S. airline was named.  She received 3-4 paragraphs in the case study, and I was just a bit enamored with her.  Her name is Colleen Barrett, and she served as president from 2001 to 2008.  Here's what the Case Study Shared:

Colleen Barrett began working with Kelleher as his legal secretary in 1967 and had been with Southwest since 1978.  As Executive vice president-customers, Barrett had a high profile among Southwest employees and spent most of her time on culture building, morale building, and customer service; her goal was to ensure that employees felt good about what they were doing and felt empowered to serve the cause of Southwest Airlines.  She and Kelleher were regarded as Southwest's guiding lights, and some analysts said she was essentially functioning as the company's chief operating officer (COO) prior to her formal appointment as president.  Much of the credit for the company's strong record of customer service and its strong-culture work climate belonged to Barrett.

Barrett had been the driving force behind lining the hallways at Southwest's headquarters with photos of company events and trying to create a family atmosphere at the company.  Believing it was important to make the employee feel cared about and important, Barrett had put together a network of contacts across the company to help her stay in touch with what was happening with employees and their families.  When network members learned about events that were worthy of acknowledgment, the word quickly got to Barrett- the information went into a database, and an appropriate greeting care or gift was sent.  Barrett had a remarkable ability to give gifts that were individualized and that connected her to the recipient.

Barrett was the first woman appointed as president and COO of a major U.S. airline.  In October 2001, Fortune ranked Colleen Barrett 20th on its list of the 50 most powerful women in American business.  Barrett retired as president in July 2008, but was scheduled to remain as a full-time Southwest employee until 2013.

Wow- what an incredible woman- and a great role model for the type of role I'd love to someday play.  (would it be too much to ask if anyone knows someone who knows this woman- to see if at all I could get a call to meet her?  You never know unless you ask... and of course, I don't really know what I'd say- I might even be a little star struck!)

As this passage got me to thinking about the possibilities, I quickly came to the realization that the position I am currently in isn't so far off.  I have the joy of serving in a nonprofit that serves several other nonprofits.  My role does allow me opportunities to bring each group "to the table", and there are times that I am intentionally trying to build a culture of unity amongst each of these organizations, which each have such a wonderful different feel and flavor.  I love to create opportunities to engage, including the creation of our representative volunteer open house.  In my role I also have the opportunity to be invested in people's lives - in our community as well as our great staffers.  Ms. Barrett gives me inspiration that I really could take this role to another level.  I also love the part where it talks about analysts saying she was already acting in the role of COO before she was ever named that.  It just goes to show the importance of how your treat your co-workers, and the name one makes for themselves.

Ms. Colleen Barrett- you are today's hero!