A Mutiny on the Green: How the LPGA Will Move On From Carolyn Bivens.

Last month, the LPGA dumped commissioner Carolyn Bivens. Her fate was sealed by what Sports Illustrated referred to as a “gaggle” of the LPGA’s top players, who met over dinner to discuss amongst themselves what was wrong with Bivens’s leadership. In other words, the commish’s worst nightmare was underway – she had a mutiny on her hands.

With sponsorship dollars drying up, tournaments becoming few and far between, and a PR fiasco under her belt (recall the infamous attempt to institute English-language requirements for foreign players), Bivens’s days were clearly numbered. But her fate was sealed primarily because of the alignment of the LPGA’s players: not only did they have clear expectations on how Bivens should perform, but also on how their leader should behave as the LPGA’s commissioner. When Bivens failed to meet those expectations, the players organized – and then they revolted.

To be a successful servant-based leader, Bivens should’ve kept the focus on representing her constituents – the players. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman might not be a popular guy amongst southern Ontarians these days, but his constituents – the owners – are behind him. Bivens failed because she stopped putting the players first.

The players made their case and the LPGA moved swiftly to terminate Bivens. As the association embarks on its search for her replacement, candidates should be considered for their potential fit with the culture of the organization, for their leadership style, and, most importantly, for their values and behaviours. Moving forward, this will ensure that the new commissioner and the players are on the same page.
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I’d Like An Aisle Seat Minus the Attitude: Does Calin Rovinescu Stand a Chance of Changing the Corporate Culture at Air Canada?

In a recent interview with The Globe and Mail’s Brent Jang, Air Canada’s CEO, Calin Rovinescu, talked about how he plans to address a task of monumental proportions – that of changing the corporate culture at the beleaguered airline.

This will not be an easy job, to say the least.

Rovinescu’s major goal is to instil a “just-do-it” approach, empowering front-line staff to make more decisions. Other ideas include winning over consumers by eliminating call centre booking fees and bringing back blankets for red-eye flights.

Rovinescu indicated in his interview with Jang that he’s no interim CEO; he plans to stick around. Good on him. Rovinescu should be credited for being in it for the long haul.

But changing how Air Canada’s employees behave will be an uphill battle, requiring more than tactics. Here then are a few additional suggestions that might help Rovinescu turn corporate culture around – for good – at Air Canada:

Bring in New People (and Bring Out The Best in The People Who Are There): Rovinescu should look at other best-in-class consumer-service organizations, like Four Seasons and Boston Pizza, to see how the “just-do-it” environment really works. The key to Air Canada’s success will be to bring in people who know how to execute, and who do a great job at it.

Measure Up: Under CEO Marc Tellier’s leadership, Yellow Pages Group morphed from a monopolistic Bell subsidiary into a lean, service and growth-oriented, best-in-class media organization. How? By openly measuring performance: at YPG, 50 per cent of an employee’s performance review is based on behaviour. This is the kind of model Air Canada should adopt.

Catch People Doing Great Things: It’s the “secret shopper” model. Reward employees who perform well, and reprimand those who don’t.

Make Them Believe: Air Canada’s internal and external communications strategy should be built around its people, and not Celine Dion. The next time I’m on a flight, I’d love to pick up an enRoute and read about how a front-line staff member provided exceptional service. I’m sure the employees would appreciate the kudos.

Good luck Calin. We’ll be watching.