Leadership in Virgin
Leadership in Virgin
Established by Sir Richard Branson 22 years ago, Virgin Atlantic has become Britians second largest airline. It operates 37 aircraft, employs 9000 staff and flies more than 4.5 million passangers a year to some of the worlds major cities.
After the slump in air travel following 9/11 Virgin Atlantic went through a period of rapid growth. Virgin Atlantic introduced a leadership development program that was led by business objectives rather than HR process and fitted into the organizations long term goal of increasing profits by 7%. The leadership team started by identifying the traits that it belivied made Virgin successful and followed this with a 360 degree appraisal of the management teams strengths and weakness.
In May 2006 Virgin sent all of its 120 managers to personal development workshops as part of a leadership initative at the cost estimated between £4000 - £5000 per head. Virgin felt that external recruitment moreover had diluted the “vibe” of the workplace and wished to create strong leadership teams with-in the company.
Virgin Business Manifesto:
“To grow a profitable airline which people love to fly and where people love to work”
Six leadership principles important to Virgin:
i. Focus agressivly on profit
ii. Be bold and adventurous
iii. Deliver the basics brilliantly
iv. Add magic touches
v. Inspire and engage your people
vi. Ensure great people can do great work
“Staff first then customers and shareholders” Richard Branson
Branson as a Leader
Bransons style of leadership leans heavily on delegation. He says he would be unable to develop his business without the help of his managers, lawyers and friends. This emphasizes such leadership qualities as flexiability, ability to delegate and accept own weaknesses.
Branson as a Transformational Leader
Key points of such a leader:
i. Find the right people
ii. Inspiring them
iii. Drawing out the best things
Established by Sir Richard Branson 22 years ago, Virgin Atlantic has become Britians second largest airline. It operates 37 aircraft, employs 9000 staff and flies more than 4.5 million passangers a year to some of the worlds major cities.
After the slump in air travel following 9/11 Virgin Atlantic went through a period of rapid growth. Virgin Atlantic introduced a leadership development program that was led by business objectives rather than HR process and fitted into the organizations long term goal of increasing profits by 7%. The leadership team started by identifying the traits that it belivied made Virgin successful and followed this with a 360 degree appraisal of the management teams strengths and weakness.
In May 2006 Virgin sent all of its 120 managers to personal development workshops as part of a leadership initative at the cost estimated between £4000 - £5000 per head. Virgin felt that external recruitment moreover had diluted the “vibe” of the workplace and wished to create strong leadership teams with-in the company.
Virgin Business Manifesto:
“To grow a profitable airline which people love to fly and where people love to work”
Six leadership principles important to Virgin:
i. Focus agressivly on profit
ii. Be bold and adventurous
iii. Deliver the basics brilliantly
iv. Add magic touches
v. Inspire and engage your people
vi. Ensure great people can do great work
“Staff first then customers and shareholders” Richard Branson
Branson as a Leader
Bransons style of leadership leans heavily on delegation. He says he would be unable to develop his business without the help of his managers, lawyers and friends. This emphasizes such leadership qualities as flexiability, ability to delegate and accept own weaknesses.
Branson as a Transformational Leader
Key points of such a leader:
i. Find the right people
ii. Inspiring them
iii. Drawing out the best things