The concept of change management has expanded in definition from the contemporary improvement of operations, process, reengineering, and cost efficiencies, to include all interwoven aspects of daily undertakings at organizational level, in simpler terms, organizational culture. Change management is a crucial requirement for managers seeking success in leadership, and failure to be a change agent can send a leader to oblivion. Leadership success in the modern environment defined by fickle consumers and workplaces with employee identity crises requires poise, patience, time to think, and ability to seamlessly integrate opportunities (Llopis, 2014). These attributes are mandatory to keep abreast of the fast evolving marketplace through proactive strategies for sustenance of organizational readiness. David Neeleman is a change agent whose role in the reinvention of JetBlue Airlines and then Azul, is heralded as one of the successful leadership and management stories. The case study provides useful insights into attributes needed to be a successful leader or manager at organizational level.
Part A: David Neeleman as a Leader
From the case study, one can argue that David Neeleman is more of a leader than a manager. In fact, not just a leader, but a highly revolutionary one who is also an effective change agent. It is evident that wherever Neeleman sets foot, they leave in their wake a string of disruptions that benefit the firm in question in the long run as they are incapable of instituting the required change themselves due to resistance from boards and top management who are risk averse and advocate for the status quo. Lunenburg (2010) defines a change agent as “anyone who has the skill and power to stimulate, facilitate, and coordinate the change effort” (p. 1). Neeleman fits this definition because of their leadership abilities. On the other hand a manager oversees implementation of established processes needed to realize set goals and targets.
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Challenging the Status Quo
It is important to point out that as a leader, Neeleman embodies different types of change agents, the analysis for the top type and the organization development type. The former is involved in transformation of organization structure with the objective of improving efficiency and output, while the latter is focused on internal processes in intergroup interactions, communication, and decision making (Lunenburg, 2010). Such was the case when Neeleman was fired five months after joining Southwest Airlines leadership on claims of being disruptive and difficult to work with. Rather than accepting the status quo at the airline firm, Neeleman challenged it. As a leader, Neeleman recognized that the Airline’s organizational structure was not broken, but could do with some improvements, a risk that the management was unwilling to take. On the contrary, a manager accepts the status quo and follows the map while avoiding risks.
Doing the Right Thing
One trait that sets leaders apart from managers is that leaders do the right thing while managers do things the right way. One of Neeleman’s beliefs from the case study is that success is measured by changing people’s lives and contributing to the society rather than making money. This cannot be achieved with strict adherence to rules without making exceptions as managers do, but by breaking the rules in some instances even though one clearly understands what they say. For instance, Neeleman was fired from JetBlue after the airline controversially held passengers for 7 hours in the runway during a storm. Logically, the move was for the safety of passengers and Neeleman made the decision from the heart rather than base it on what the airline rules say. Throughout Neeleman’s career, they have rubbed people the wrong way because of their lack of adherence to rules they perceive to be retrogressive, a trait that most managers lack because of their strict adherence to established rules.
Long Term Thinking
The most evident trait of Neeleman as a leader is their ability to think in the long term, which allows them to see opportunities where other people cannot. Long term thinking has been critical in vision and mission setting for airlines where Neeleman has set foot. This way, Neeleman has been able to chart new growth strategies by curving new roads, setting the direction, and motivating people to share in their vision. Selling an idea is one of the key traits of a leader because it sets them apart from a manager who tells people what to do with instructions on how to go about it. In the case, Neeleman is quoted saying that their goal is to have all employees working for Azul saying that it is the best job they have ever had, because such positivity can be translated into customer service to generate exceptional satisfaction levels.
Part B: Key Elements of JetBlue’s Culture
The culture of JetBlue epitomizes the vision of its founder David Neeleman. According to Erkutlu (2012), shared leadership instills organizational culture that encourages team proactivity, a concept that Neeleman exploited. Nevertheless, the case study shows that Neeleman and the management’s principles collided seven years into the tenure of the airline leading to Neeleman being relieved of their duties. It is evident that the founder of the company was fired to avoid negative publicity which would have impacted the airlines revenues. This shows the risk-averse culture within the airline management, contrary to what its founder espoused by reiterating the need to prioritize customers’ needs.
However, the culture of JetBlue remains largely a blueprint of the vision set by its founder, and has brought the airline immense success. JetBlue emphasizes on teamwork a culture instilled by Neeleman through belief that it is the people who make it work. Teamwork facilitates up and down traffic in communication ensuring customers concerns are communicated to the top management and feedback back to the lower levels of the hierarchy. The success of teamwork is aided by the culture of quick decision making and implementation. Through teamwork, the airline is able to remain in touch with employees and customers implying that decisions made address the problems on the ground because they are based on factual evidence for those who matter.
Neeleman also established a culture of innovation needed to make JetBlue strategies competitive and sustainable. Besides ticketless travels, an innovation that cuts across the industry, JetBlue customizes its planes in an effort to maximize customer comfort. The airline culture is defined by its revolutionary services including affordability, simple reservations, more leg room, internet connectivity, and televisions in all seats.
Part C: The Role of the Leader in the Development and Maintenance of Culture
One trait that sets Neeleman apart from other leaders is their obsessive need to stay in touch with employees and customers. At Azul Airlines, Neeleman is known for their regular stops at call centers to talk to trainees and reminds the airline executives to do the same with customers because it is them who know better. Similar sentiments are echoed in the exploration of the mediating role of human capital in developing sustainable organizational culture (Ghorbanhosseini, 2013). One can argue that Neeleman instituted a similar culture at JetBlue before their untimely departure because of their visionary approach to leadership. It is evident that the role of Neeleman as a leader and change agent in the development and maintenance of organizational culture was informed by the need to bring the management, employees, and customers closer. According to Lunenburg (2010), a leader must assume the role of a consultant, trainer, and researcher. These roles are essential in collection, analysis, and manipulation of data to validate the effectiveness of action plans implemented at organizational level.
Performing the above roles successfully requires a leader to build a culture of teamwork and collaboration to ensure all levels and departments speak in unison. Therefore, a leader must ensure hemophily by ensuring that they are understood and their plans accepted by employees. This is critical for eliminating faultlines that are detrimental to group performance (Bezrukova, Thatcher, Jehn et al. , 2012). A leader must also establish linkage between the management and employees to facilitate development of proximity with customers. The bottom line is that a leader has a crucial role in building the culture of openness where the flow of information form the customer to the top management, and corresponding redress measures back to the lower levels is established. Neeleman’s role in developing and sustaining such a culture is evident in the continued success of JetBlue long after their departure.
References
Bezrukova, K., Thatcher, S., Jehn, K. A., & Spell, C. S. (2012). The effects of alignments: examining group faultlines, organizational cultures, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology , 97 (1), 77-92.
Erkutlu, H. (2012). The impact of organizational culture on the relationship between shared leadership and team proactivity. Team Performance Management: An International Journal , 18 (1/2), 102-119.
Ghorbanhosseini, M. (2013). The effect of organizational culture, teamwork and organizational development on organizational commitment: The mediating role of human capital. Tehnički vjesnik , 20 (6), 1019-1025.
Llopis, G. (2014, Mar). Every leader must be a change agent or face extinction. Forbes. Retrieved 28/06/2017 from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/24/every-leader-must-be-a-change-agent-or-face-extinction/#560d931a4e0f.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Managing change: The role of the change agent. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration , 13 (1), 1-6.
