The role of a leader in a company can hardly be overrated; every company depends on its leader and his/her choices. The level of dependency, however, as well as other parameters of leadership approach, varies from one company to another. In the given paper, different leadership styles adopted in JetBlue and Southwest are compared and contrasted to figure out what good leadership actually is and whether there is such a phenomenon as a paradigm of successful and fruitful leadership. Despite the differences in their leadership styles, both Southwest and its comparatively young rival, JetBlue have managed to peak amazingly high. By analyzing the companies’ annual performance, one can possibly define whether the company’s success is defined by its leadership style.
Making the right choice concerning a leadership style is not easy; depending on a number of factors, leadership style predetermines the relationships that are going to be established between the company leader and his/her subordinates, as well as the efficiency of the latter’s performance, production values, and the company’s growth prospects. Although JetBlue and Southwest have adopted strikingly different leadership styles but set their priorities straight, the company leaders managed to achieve tremendous success in a relatively short amount of time (Amber, 2012).
When considering the way in which the Southwest Company leaders develop their relationships with the company’s employees, one may suggest that the company uses a mixture of transformational and quiet leadership styles. Thus, the company shows clearly that it relies on the experience and competence of their employees, therefore, motivating them for further personal and professional growth: “We hire the right people and invest in their development” (Bryant, 2007, 36). Meanwhile, the Southwest Company transforms the ay of their employees’ thinking, therefore, changing the perception of the latter towards their work: “We believe in developing and promoting people who display potential in four key areas: developing people, building great teams, thinking strategically, and achieving excellent results” (Bryant, 2007, 36).
At present, the transformation is aimed at helping the employees adapt to the fact that the members of the company have to “work in an ever-changing environment” (Bryant, 2007, 36). It is also worth mentioning that the company incorporates the elements of servant leadership as well: “We are in the customer service business: We just happen to fly airplanes” (Bryant, 2007, 36). It is quite peculiar, though, that the head of the company defines the leadership style as “value-added leadership” (Bryant, 2007, 36).
Note. From Southwest corporate fact sheet (2012). Web.
Judging by the current evidence concerning the company’s performance, it can be assumed that the Southwest Company is developing rapidly, mostly because of the application of the transformational leadership style as a key method of pushing the professional growth of the employees.
Compared to the Southwest Company, Jet Blue adopts a leadership style that is aimed at staying integrated while expanding into the world market. Since the company has initially taken a specific niche, i.e., “brash, low-cost airline” (Denison Consulting, 2006), and has been focusing on production, using authoritative leadership style in communication with the employees, in 2013, it needs to use people target leadership, not only towards the staff, but also towards the customers. As the company president and CEO, Dave Barger, explained, the PENCIL strategy, which he is currently using, “operationalizes the public-private partnership.” (Kanani, 2012). As the recently obtained data says, JetBlue’s financial situation can be described in the following way (retrieved from JetBlue, 2012):
Note. From JetBlue (2012). JetBlue reports record fourth quarter and full year revenues. Web.
It is important to stress that none of the companies uses a specific leadership style – the heads of both companies prefer a mixed approach, seeing how the Southwest Company offers its employees impressive freedom, while managers coordinate the actions of the staff rather than direct them. The given leadership style contributes to the self-development process, which is appreciated in the Southwest Company so much. The drawbacks of the given strategy, however, are also obvious; as the report shows, the average passenger load factor is much lower in the Southwest Company. The JetBlue leader, on the opposite, clearly prefers being able to coordinate every single process, which is also a rather wise decision.
The total operating revenue in JetBlue, however, is much lower than the one in Southwest, which means that the company leader makes the decisions that result in losing much money on the luxurious equipment, such as leather seats, and other elements that are supposed to create a cozy and comfortable atmosphere. JetBlue, on the contrary, seems to offer less costly services, with environmentally responsible products. As a result, people clearly prefer Southwest to its rival, JetBlue. The given results show that it is most reasonable to choose the leadership strategy that allows employees to grow professionally and take into account their insights rather than use an authoritative leadership approach. While reinforcing corporate values is essential, it is also important to make sure that the employees’ qualifications are up to the notch.
Despite the fact that the Southwest Company and Jet Blue differ considerably in their leadership styles, the former aiming at the professional development of its employees, and the latter claiming the comfort of the clients as its top priority, each of the companies has managed to not only stay afloat, but also become considerably more influential.
Reference List
Amber, H. (2012). Transformational leadership and organizational leadership behaviors: The role of organizational identification. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 15(4), 247–268.
Bryant, E. (2007). Leadership. Web.
Denison Consulting (2006). JetBlue Airways: Developing leaders in a fast-growing start-up. Web.
JetBlue (2012). JetBlue reports record fourth quarter and full year revenues. Web.
Kanani, R. (2012). 5 leadership lessons from JetBlue’s President and CEO. Web.
Klier, L. et al. (2011). Southwest Airlines. Web.
Southwest corporate fact sheet (2012). Web.