A Pig in Lipstick

Leadership Lessons from the Front Line

Several years ago, we were delivering a leadership development program to the frontline leaders of a major US airline. It was a multi-day program teaching the core concepts of self-awareness, effective listening, and coaching. Our executive sponsor was a seasoned VP with a wealth of experience in the airline industry. He was, in many ways, an ideal sponsor: he was always present at program launches, a staunch advocate for the value of continuous learning, and committed to holding participants accountable for their development. It was a single interaction with him that led to a profound realization of the power of role modeling in leadership. ?

During the program, we presented market data that compared our client to its competitors across a range of performance metrics. The data revealed a startling insight: our client had higher scores on almost every operational measure, however, their customer service ratings were consistently lower. Despite excelling in operational performance, our client received more customer complaints, and people preferred to fly with the competition. Our client had more on-time departures, lost fewer pieces of luggage, and canceled fewer flights, but something was wrong! ?

Our client’s operations were meticulously managed, and processes existed for every possible contingency. From a technical, transactional standpoint, they were unquestionably the superior airline, but the customer service data was telling a different story. From a human, intangible perspective, they were trailing behind: they were seen as less friendly, less approachable, and more difficult to travel with. Despite their operational excellence, customers would rather fly with the competition. ?

When I pointed out this disparity in the data, our executive sponsor’s response shocked me. He said, “That’s because they are a pig wearing lipstick!” He didn’t respond with curiosity or concern. He dismissed the data on customer service. He ignored the value of this feedback and ridiculed the competition’s strengths. He mocked them, comparing their customer service to putting lipstick on a pig; in other words, their product is poor and they cover it up with makeup and a smile. ?

He failed to recognize and learn from the biggest insight that the data provided: the product IS as much the smile, the friendly acknowledgment, and the human touch as it is on-time departures and luggage delivered promptly. The service passengers experienced was an integral part of the product they were purchasing. Rather than seeking to understand what his competitors knew that he didn’t, he chose to disparage them. He chose judgment over curiosity. His response told me a lot about the cultural source of the customer service challenges. ?

With a technical mindset, leaders may place excessive emphasis on the tangible over the intangible. They will say “If we can’t measure it, it doesn’t matter”. Understandably, we want to focus on the tangible. If we can measure something, we feel like we can control it. However, this can be a dangerous leadership principle. Often, the things that matter most can’t be measured. How do you accurately measure the value of a positive customer interaction? The motivational impact of positive feedback? More personally, what metric can capture the love you have for your family? ?

As a leader, you need to pay as much attention to the things you can’t accurately measure, as the things you can. And you need to role-model this to your teams. What you pay attention to is what your teams pay attention to. If a competitor offering better service is “a pig in lipstick”, you send the message that service doesn’t matter and your team misses the opportunity to improve. ?

At Dialogik Creative Leadership we are passionate about helping clients role model great leadership. Reach out to us for a conversation to learn more.