Unique approach to supervision by Southwest Airlines

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Unique Approach to Supervision by Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines exhibits a unique approach to the supervision of their employees. The unique approach can be attributed to Southwest’s positive profitability trend and increased employee retention over the years. Southwest’s major strength arguably lies in placing their employees first and their customers second.
The airline exercises exemplary business leadership. Leaders working in the airline are not only trained to exude credibility but also are trained to exude empathy. The leaders at the airline are renown for “telling it straight” without having to make issues appear better than they are. For instance, Herb Kelleher who is a former CEO of the company is famous for telling the truth without falsifying information (Leonard 429). Consequently, employees regarded Kelleher to be very credible and also a good role model to other leaders. Credibility in isolation is not sufficient thus leaders are also taught to exercise empathy. Employees can rely on their leaders not only to solve business related issues but also personal issues. This boosts employee satisfaction thus better service provision.
The company also invests in front-line leaders. Every 10 – 15 group of employees has a supervisor who closely works with them (Blanchard and Colleen 22). A supervisor not only exercises managerial responsibility for employees but also perform the same tasks as the employees. Therefore, the supervisors are poised to give better advice to employees since they have the first experience of any challenges that employees are facing.

Further, the supervisors are trained to coach and give feedback instead of punishing mistakes. Consequently, employees are increasingly comfortable to innovate, which improves service delivery.
It is evident that Southwest Airlines has a unique approach to the supervision of their employees. The leaders are trained to be credible as well as empathetic in their work. Leaders are also trained to act as mentors to the employees. Consequently, this culture can be linked to increased employee retention and high profitability levels by the company.

Works Cited
Blanchard, Kenneth H, and Colleen Barrett. Lead with Luv: A Different Way to Create Real
Success. Upper Saddle River, N.J: FT Press, 2011. Print.
Leonard, Edwin C. Supervision: Concepts and Practices of Management. Mason, OH: South-
Western Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.