Rita Bailey, Southwest Airlines

Rita was a twenty-five year old veteran at Southwest Airlines, a two-time recipient of The President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement, and in her final role at Southwest Airlines she served as director of The University for People. SWA is of course a beacon in the world of Great Work and Rita shares insights from her time there in this interview. Meantime, she continues to be heavily involved with the American Society of Training and Development, while heading her own consultancy, QVF Partners, a consulting firm committed to helping organizations create people-focused cultures. Rita is also author of Destination Profit, which makes a strong correlation between the power of employee engagement and organizations becoming more profitable.

This interview is approximately 20 minutes long.

Listen to my interview with Rita Bailey

0:16 Michael introduces Rita Bailey

1:37 Rita’s book Destination Profit

5:21 Having a vision and how to make it happen

10:15 The need to be flexible and adapt

10:36 Barriers to Great Work

13:29 Encouraging and sustaining Great Work

21:55 Focusing on the urgent and the importance of delegating work

25:28 What it takes for Great Work to flourish in organizations

28:10 How to find out more about Rita Bailey

29:01 Michael closes the interview

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