If you’re going to Tasmania, where’s the
best airport to land? Who do you turn to if
you want to fly from Miami to Panama City
and need to be wheels up in 20 minutes?
Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., headquartered
in Houston, TX, has the answers.
Universal is a global trip services provider.
They’ve been in business for almost 50 years
to serve clients
who often have
travel needs that
cannot be filled
by anyone else.
Universal doesn’t fly or supply the planes, but
it does provide every other service needed to
ensure a successful trip.
Making a name based on outstanding
service requires a tremendous investment
in people. “Our business is only worth what
the people are worth,” according to Steve
Ginsburgh, Senior Vice President of Human
Resources and Workforce Development. He
points out that Universal is one of few companies
that formally positions its people as a key
business driver of their strategy.
When Ginsburgh joined Universal over two
years ago, he felt managers should assume a
stronger leadership role. He wanted a prescription
for improving leadership effectiveness
that all of Universal’s managers could
model. This is where Psychological Associates
has been very helpful. Our flagship seminar, LEADERSHIP THROUGH PEOPLE SKILLS® (LTPS), provides a systematic approach to developing leadership behavior. It offers practical tools
that managers can apply right away, such as
the Dimensional® Model of Behavior™ and
the Five-Step Format for handling interactions.
“The development of leadership as a competency
is often cited as a need, but is handled
ineffectively
compared to the
so-called harder
competencies a
company needs
to develop in their people,” said Ginsburgh. “The LTPS seminar gives us a common set of
skills and language for collaborating more
effectively.” This is important for a company
with 1,200 employees in 50 countries, who
collectively must plan 2,500 successful trips
per month.
Ginsburgh also believes follow-through
is critical. “In most leadership development
programs, participants have a great experience,
but when they return, it’s the same ol’
same ol’.” LTPS is different. Managers bring to
the seminar a real-life case from work, which
they practice resolving. When these managers
return to work with their new skills, they
practice their case again as part of a process
that uses video, feedback, and coaching.
This works particularly well because the top
executives on down at Universal experience
LTPS themselves. “We should all be talking
the same language.”
Has it paid off? Has this emphasis on
greater collaboration and accountability
created a more productive business envronment?
According to
Ginsburgh, terminations
based on poor performance
are down by 20
percent at Universal. Inside
sales teams have better margins because
of increased collaboration. Project management
is more streamlined, the business planning
process has expanded vastly, and budget
projections are much more timely.
The appraisal process has also become
much more open, yet it emphasizes accountability
more than ever. Communication and collaborative skills make performance discussions
much more a team effort.
LTPS has laid the
foundation for a
more collaborative
culture. Universal
Weather & Aviation
is routinely named “one of the best places to work in Houston,”
according to a local newspaper survey. More
important, effective collaboration pays real
bottom-line dividends.
So, need help transporting a camel? Call
Universal. Psychological Associates is helping
this industry leader to fly high. |