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Teamwork Keeps Alaska Airlines Soaring
Alaska Airlines recently celebrated a phenomenal year. But instead of resting on its laurels, the airline continues to build its team.
Too many organizations believe that making the numbers means it’s time to take a break from energizing the team. In fact, the opposite is true. As Alaska Airlines has shown, good times are the perfect opportunity to use the momentum of success to build an even stronger competitive advantage.
 Kicking off a New Year
Alaska Airlines introduces strategic themes at an annual leadership conference attended by all 900 management employees. This year, Advantage recommended Gold of the Desert Kings, from Advantage alliance partner Eagle’s Flight, to kick off the conference.
Claudia Hage, Alaska’s Manager of Career Development, explains, “People had received a suite of personal development tools at the previous year’s conference. This year, we wanted to focus on team building. Gold gave us the chance to move people into a situational experience where they were challenged to apply those personal development skills as part of a team. It helped people learn how using effective team skills really leverages their individual effort. Gold was also a lot of fun, which was another key reason we chose the program.”
Gold of the Desert Kings is a rousing simulation that sends teams on a wild treasure hunt through a desert. Teams were required to evaluate options and make hard choices throughout the simulation. Only those teams that could blend teamwork with goal setting, strategy development, and effective planning achieved success.
“To get a group of 900 people to remain engaged is a big feat. But that’s exactly what happened,” says Hage. ”People felt that the program was absolutely outstanding. When they were not successful, they understood what they had done wrong, where their strategy was flawed, and why they had faltered by not using their entire team. Many people said this was the most engaging Leadership Conference we had ever held.”
Maximizing Resources
Gold of the Desert Kings has helped people change the way they work together. “The biggest impact we’ve seen has been increased freedom to work across divisions. A lot more people are linking up with other divisions to get an outside perspective on goals and objectives,” Hage explains. Employees also gained a better understanding of the wealth of internal team resources offered by the airline. This was illuminated by the Gold simulation and the desktop “Maximize” cards that participants received at its conclusion.
“Being able to apply learning back on the job and keep the momentum going made a big difference,” says Hage. “The cards were a wonderful summary and a tangible reminder to apply the learning and maximize your team resources. My favorite sits on my desk every day, reminding me to ‘Value your resources: time, information, and people.’”
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