Harvard Business Review: Delta’s ‘change power’ sets it apart for success

Chris Sweigart
Jun 21, 2021

Delta’s “change power” was a key attribute in how the airline successfully navigated the COVID-
19 pandemic and makes it poised for growth in the future, according to the Harvard Business
Review.

Delta’s “change power” was a key attribute in how the airline successfully navigated the COVID-
19 pandemic and makes it poised for growth in the future. That assessment was featured in the
Harvard Business Review’s unveiling of a new business system designed to assess a company’s
ability to change.

The Harvard Business Review identified nine common traits, in three groups, that it says make
companies excel at change, and that Delta exemplified:
• Purpose, direction and connection.
• Capacity, choreography and scaling.
• Development, action and flexibility.

“Delta Air Lines has strengths in each of these three groups, which helps explain why it responded
so well when the pandemic hit, relative to its competitors,” the Harvard Business Review wrote.
“The company is particularly strong in purpose, connection, and action.”

The actions Delta took at the onset of the pandemic – particularly the decision to block middle
seats – offered a case study for the change power system’s authors. It was a decision informed
by listening to its customers. While on the on the surface it seemed straightforward, executing
the mandate across a vast aircraft fleet, thousands of employees and a myriad of systems proved
complicated.

“We start with the quick solution, and then look at how we can make it more efficient,” Delta
V.P. – America’s Pricing and Revenue Management Paul Baldoni told the Harvard Business
review, summarizing an iterative, focused approach that ultimately addressed challenges across
the entire organization.

The decision to block the middle seat was one of many difficult choices that had to be made by
Delta’s leadership and CEO Ed Bastian. Despite the pressures, he remained committed to his
employees, confident that if they felt supported, they’d in-turn care for the airline’s customers
at a time when the airline was facing its most challenging days.

Bastian’s strength in the change power traits, his ability to transfer them throughout the
organization and employees’ recognition of that leadership led him to be named among the top
10 CEOs in Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards for the Top CEOs of 2021, which named
leaders who excelled at supporting their people throughout the pandemic. The recognition
reflects his leadership – connecting with the Delta people through crisis by communicating
purposefully and always acting to put people’s health, safety and well-being first.

“Ed has been steadfast about putting people before profits,” said Joanne Smith, Delta’s E.V.P.
and Chief People Officer. “That’s a leadership lesson for the ages, and one that’s made all the
difference.”

Delta’s people have been recognized, too. The airline earned the No. 1 spot in the J.D. Power
2021 North American Airline Satisfaction Study, underscoring the professionalism, care and
humanity Delta people delivered during the pandemic.

“Delta’s quick response to the pandemic illustrates how a large-scale, complex organization can
lean into its strengths and effect major change in rather short order,” the Harvard Business
Review wrote.

“The lesson,” the authors wrote, “A company’s capacity for change matters. A lot.”

Source:
https://news.delta.com/harvard-business-review-deltas-change-power-sets-it-apart-success

A Case Study in Change: Delta Airlines

Unlike restaurants, airlines did not have much existing infrastructure to carry them through a
global pandemic. Airlines profit based on the tickets they book, and if nobody is willing to fly,
airlines can’t just pivot to a “take-out” travel option. After the pandemic hit, airlines were faced
with a crucial ultimatum: find an innovative solution or suffer catastrophic losses. Delta Airlines,
one of the oldest and largest airlines in the country, decided to tackle the change head-on and
immediately started working on a change management plan.

According to the Harvard Business Review, Delta began by interviewing past clients and
identifying why its customers were reluctant to fly. Delta had implemented a number of new
sanitation and safety features that could protect passengers against COVID-19, including
improving airflow in the cabins and requiring face masks. However, customers were still shying
away from air travel. From its client interviews, Delta determined that clients were afraid of being
seated next to strangers, even if those strangers were wearing face masks. Though it cost in the
short term, Delta made the decision to stop selling tickets for middle seats so that there would
always be space between passengers. As a result, Delta had 9% fewer seats to sell than their
competitors, but, even so, Delta’s revenue was “12% higher than the average of American, United
and Southwest combined.”

Delta structured changes to its operations around what would make customers more
comfortable and ultimately found that customers were willing to pay for some extra peace of
mind. Implementing the change was made easier by quick and effective communication across
all levels of operation. Flight attendants, gate staffers and corporate communications
professionals were given the tools they needed to communicate the company’s safety plan to
prospective passengers and execute the new seating rules. As the immediate changes took effect
and began yielding results, Delta worked on making the changes more efficient and seamless,
refining its process every step of the way.

Source:
https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/managing-change-uncertain-times-case-study