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.