Listening, Learning, Leading: How to Turnaround a Culture and Build Resilient Teams

When Oscar Munoz took over an airline with poor performance and low staff morale, his first task wasn’t what many people expected.

“I wrote an initial note that took out all the corporate pablum,” he said. “I wrote a very heartfelt note: ‘We’re going to do this differently. I really want to hear and listen from you.’”

Total change in the company culture

Munoz, who is credited with reviving United Airlines during his time as CEO from 2015 to 2020, talked about his efforts to make the company a better place to work in a conversation with WorkProud CEO Michael Levy at the WorkProud webinar.

It all began with listening

His predecessor at United, Munoz said, “was an incredibly intelligent person.” However, “Any concept that was presented to him, he felt smarter about the subject and was quick to point out to you why your question, your premise, your suggestion or your idea was inaccurate or incorrect.

“We all know listening isn’t throwing it back in your face.”

So when he was asked at his first meeting with industry analysts and investors, “What the hell are you going to do?” this was the new boss’ answer:

“I said, ‘You know what? I don’t know. But I am going to spend some time really finding out. I’m going to take some time and listen to the people that run this business every day, let them tell me more of what they have to say, and when I get through with that, I’m going to take all of this smart information and we’re going to form a plan that we can all get behind.’”

The honest way to collect feedback from employees

Munoz meant it, traveling the country, visiting company facilities large and small, engaging employees at every level. They were glad and sometimes surprised to see the CEO, but it wasn’t always happy talk.

“I got a ton of not-positive feedback,” he told Michael Levy. “People in my face, yelling, screaming obscenities – you’ve taken this away, you shouldn’t have done this. While some of it was accurate, a lot of it wasn’t actually factually true. But I couldn’t debate them about the facts.

“There was a level of emotion under the fact that mattered, and the specific complaint was somewhat irrelevant…They were really saying, ‘why am I not being respected? Why are you making my job life harder?’ We had lost their trust.”

To build it back, he said, “This art of listening must be genuine. I could have said I’m going to stop at these four locations, and I’m going to speak to these 20 people and check box-check box-check box.”

“My instinct was to do it without an entourage, without a plan. I’m going to come off the plane, I’m going to start talking to people, let things flow wherever they need be…There’s always something about someone that you can engage with personally. When someone approaches you and you take what seems to be a genuine interest, the level of trust tends to build.”

And while he obviously couldn’t talk to everyone in a company of 100,000 employees, he reached more people than he could count.

“The quality of the ripple effect of that one conversation on that individual’s friends, family, and coworkers will be more profound than any major speech you could have made in front of a large crowd,” Munoz said. “Because we listen to people we know and people we trust.”

Key tips on getting feedback from employees

Some of the changes that grew out of those conversations weren’t complicated, like serving a better brand of coffee on flights or providing a refrigerator for an office where staffers want to bring their own lunch. Others were more challenging, like negotiating union contracts. But Munoz stressed that just because people speak up, that doesn’t guarantee they’ll always get what they want.

“Every time I spoke to someone, I made sure they knew I heard what they said,” he said. “But I would always qualify it by saying thank you for that perspective and viewpoint. I’m listening to a lot of different people, and this is something I will look at…You have to set the expectation that not everything you heard can be fixed.”

But by listening and taking action, he said, “It showed you heard me. You did something about it. I call that proof, not promise.”

“Of course, money is at the root of everything, good and evil,” he said. “But there’s something about the intrinsic value (of recognition and rewards) versus the fiscal value. Being recognized is such a human need and desire, and the way we do it and how we do it consistently and genuinely is such an important aspect of that.”

And turning around a company, as Munoz proved at United, started with the people who work there.

“If I can’t get the people who actually provide the service to get reengaged, remotivated, reenergized and being rewarded and recognized in a certain way,” he said, “I don’t care what we do. Our product is never going to get to that point.”

WorkProud

WorkProud, which helps companies craft an inspired workplace culture through communication, recognition and rewards, presents a monthly webinar featuring experts on workplace issues from around the country. It’s always free, and there’s usually a great giveaway just for tuning in. Watch for details about upcoming sessions in our monthly newsletter. If you don’t already subscribe, sign up here.

At WorkProud, we leverage technology to:

1. Increase the quantity & quality of recognition.
2. Drive accountability to show leaders appreciation of its workforce.
3. Measure recognition and its effects.

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