culturedrag

Helping an airline identify areas of culture drag

The airline’s history tells the story of an entrepreneurial organization that had grown rapidly. This had led to significant success in a volatile industry where competitors had failed or continued to struggle for survival.

A significant component of the airline’s success formula had been to minimize formal infrastructure and maximize dependence on senior level people in positions of authority. This ensured that the organization was able to ‘turn on a dime’ and move to action quickly and decisively. This worked extremely well when the organization was relatively small and was a valuable transition model during six years of rapid growth through acquisitions.

This formula for success no longer appeared to be working to the airline’s benefit. Major initiatives were slow to get off the ground, operational challenges were mounting, morale appeared very low and turnover rates were increasing. Both the CEO and new president suspected that the current culture was holding the organization back and wanted to know the cause of the culture ‘drag’ they were experiencing.

While the CEO and President were keen to get to action quickly, some caution was required to make sure that a defensive reaction wasn’t created within the organization. We worried that actions that could be perceived as a threat to the entrepreneurial soul of the organization were going to be met with, at a minimum, skepticism, and likely strong resistance. This included any changes that looked or felt like formal ‘structures’ that might be perceived as having the potential to slow decision-making or reduce ability to act quickly.

Due to the Culture Snapshot’s ability to assess very subtle culture patterns and differences across groups, it was selected as the means to develop a detailed look at the assumptions, beliefs, behaviors and practices at play in the organization. Importantly, it would provide a deep scan into sub-culture patterns across roles, such as pilots and attendants, and across departments, such as Finance and Maintenance. It would look at the interplay between culture patterns so that causal factors and levers for change could be pinpointed and, as well, identify the role that leader behaviors were playing in shaping the culture.

As we delved into the results of the Culture Snapshot, we were able to weave together complex elements of the airline’s culture story. One of the most intriguing was the diverse perspectives of the CEO and President as to the way the culture was operating. Using their responses to the survey, we asked them to engage in focused conversations to explore their different viewpoints. This would help them identify potential blind spots and gain better understanding of current reality.

While it was important that the organization retain its entrepreneurial qualities, it was equally important that it be able to use its resources effectively and not be continuously in a reactive mode. Recommendations included the introduction of a consistent managing framework that would gradually install sets of shared practices to re-align leader behaviors and would support the development of new managers. We also suggested the redistribution of executive power to expand the organization’s entrepreneurial capability. This was bound to create a reaction so a staged plan of action was recommended, starting at the executive level.

The airline had had stunning success in taking advantage of market opportunities. With the path to culture change clearer, the leadership team has been able to focus on building a strong foundation of culture patterns that will balance entrepreneurialism with efficiency.

Sponsors
CEO and President

Services
Culture Change Readiness: Leadership Team Retreat prior to survey period
Culture Snapshot

Outcome
Causal factors for culture ‘drag’ identified
A pathway for culture change that protected culture strengths and minimized a defensive reaction established