I recently heard Howard Putnam speak. He is the former CEO of South West Airlines - an airline with a reputation for being safe, cheap and more importantly, fun! Putnam was talking about what he did to lead South West into one of the most successful airlines in the USA by being the lowest cost operator.

What he did enabled the airline to constantly win multiple awards, remain profitable even though it had the lowest cost tickets, and never downsize anyone.

There was no magic in it. He simply spent 60 - 70% of his time talking one on one to the people who worked for the airline. He regularly worked a number of hours on the baggage handling line. In fact, he says his greatest achievement was never to do anything he learned at other airlines!

First the vision

Putnam said first you have to have a vision. Next you need to know what business you are in - Putnam said South West was not in the airline business but in mass transportation - and that perspective changed the way he ran the airline. Then comes the really big challenge - the critical part - you have to build the culture.

You get a sense of his focus and commitment when you find out that South West has a 'people department' not HR or Personnel. They have 'people committees' who are responsible for sorting out business problems. Employees feel able and are encouraged to talk to management about what's going on in the business without fear of repercussions. They are given a sense of ownership through shares in the airline.

So what can we learn from this approach? Can it help us answer why so many expensive Australian business change initiatives fail to deliver the expected results? And interestingly, why is it that most CEO's and managers appear to know the answer but only about one in five organizations implement the solution for success?

Leadership from the top.

The CEO. The Board. The senior executive team. That's what is needed. But all too often the CEO either delegates the responsibility or worse, doesn't believe it is necessary to get out there and lead the change to build an organisation that has adaptability as a core competence.

Why? Many I have spoken to say they don't have time or that they need to focus on the day to day. A short term view resulting in long term loss.

My own view is that more often than not, it's not actually unwillingness or lack of awareness. It's more likely to be because the senior team members do not know what to do and how.

When it becomes important to re-focus your organization and to change the way it has done its work before, CEO's and managers should think about how they are going to move their people through the 4 levels of readiness that most people experience as they adapt to change.

The four stages of change

The first stage is comfortable oblivion. Employees deny the need to change. They don't see the point of it and therefore resist any attempts or overtures.

The second stage is one of mild contemplation. They are pretty well ambivalent about what's happening. There is the beginning of recognition that maybe they need to do something but they procrastinate, substitute thinking for action, adopt what is cheekily called in the Australian vernacular, the 'gunna' approach!

The third stage is preparation when at last people begin to see there is a problem and focus on the solution. Often a critical event causes this leap. For example, if the organization is trying to implement a new attitude to safety then maybe it takes a serious accident to bring about the mind shift.

Of if you are trying to convince your colleagues of the importance of real customer focus (as opposed to the rhetoric), the loss of a major account might be the catalyst.

Perhaps you are trying to put some work/life balance into your own life - a car accident due to your tiredness might be a key motivator!

The last stage on the readiness ladder is when your people start to take action. They visibly practice and changes take place. Your people are at last motivated to give it a go.

It's also worth remembering that people change to the degree to which they are motivated by the 'I can do it' factor. No-one is going to try anything they don't think they can do.

What can the CEO and top team do?

So what does a CEO and the management team need to do to change the culture and bring about any changes in attitude or behaviours to get to a the new way of doing business?

Try this list for starters:

Get out there and communicate:

• The business reasons for change - why change is necessary
• Create the urgency- show the extreme pressure to change coming from outside the organization
• Validate the way the organization has been to date and their role in it
• Describe the new vision and scope - what will it be like after change - define it from perspective of the listener
• Identify what is not changing
• Explain the change process - the initiatives and timelines
• Let them know what changes can be expected and when
• Describe the problems they might experience
• Explain the impact of not changing
• Don't blame the past or people
• Answer the WIFM question and "How will this affect me? 'What am I expected to do?'

This is a big job, not for the faint-hearted. But for leaders who realise that this is the most important role of the leader, their reward will be to join the small and exclusive list of leaders who have successfully taken their organizations to the next level.