The participant ‘choir singing’ of Volare at the Gala Dinner was a key emotional and fun experience for participants and observers alike.
The third annual Airport Leadership & Change Management conference took place in Bologna from 23-25 October 2013, hosted by Aeroporto G Marconi di Bologna. The event was designed by Dr Richard Plenty & Terri Morrissey, of HR consultancy, This Is, in cooperation with ACI EUROPE. This year’s theme was ‘Leadership for Sustainable Growth – Building an Ethos of Entrepreneurial Excellence’ and it attracted some 120 participants.
Building on the success of the previous events in Dublin and London, this year’s conference was preceded by the inaugural Leadership Master Class, led by Declan Collier, Vice President of ACI World, Past President of ACI EUROPE and CEO London City Airport. He was joined by James Cherry, Past President of ACI World and CEO Aéroports de Montréal. They shared their experiences of leadership and how leadership style may change depending on the circumstances. Declan outlined the shamrock model of competencies, whereby leaders needed to demonstrate the ability to see the big picture, develop personal mastery and build relationships and networks. He also distinguished between operational and conceptual leadership. Jim focused on the four pillars of engagement: Clarity, Influence, Confidence and Recognition.
The inaugural meeting of ACI EUROPE Leadership & Human Resources Forum also took place earlier in the day. The mission of this new Forum is to promote and develop best practices in human resources and leadership at airports. During the meeting, human resources professionals from more than 20 airports across Europe had the opportunity to share their views and challenges, which they encounter on a daily basis in working for human resources departments at airports (the Forum’s next meeting will take place in spring 2014).
ACI EUROPE partners with AirPeople
ACI EUROPE took the occasion of the ALCM conference in Bologna to present its recently partnership with ‘Corporate Spirit Ltd’ and ‘This Is’ to make a new service available to its members: The AirPeople™ Employee Engagement Survey. The survey will allow airports to track and assess the attitudes and perceptions of employees in terms of how they see their workplace in relation to its organisation, culture and practices.
These are important indicators along with the Customer Service Indicators in allowing airports to assess how they are performing against best practice. The connection between employee engagement, customer service and improved business results is well documented. The purpose of the AirPeople survey is to help airports to create and maintain a high performance organisation. The survey has been adapted specifically to reflect the performance requirements of the airport industry. Another feature of the survey is that it has been specifically designed to take into account cultural and language differences. Data from any participating airport is of course entirely confidential.
The AirPeople™ Employee Engagement survey has been piloted by Dubrovnik Airport. Fees are designed to give ACI EUROPE Regular Members a substantial advantage over usual market prices.
More information can be found at: http://www.airpeople.aero.
Day One of ALCM: Storytelling
The first day of the conference placed the emphasis firmly on storytelling. Using the medium of storytelling, the following insights emerged:
Change and growth happen naturally given the right conditions and support. This was evidenced by the keynote story of the development of Technogy; the growth of airports themselves; the accelerated learning of the participant ‘choir singing’ of Volare at the Gala Dinner! A key emotional and fun experience for participants and observers alike;
Leadership is something you feel and experience; it is a ‘contact sport’ not just an intellectual activity. The stories of change that all the participants shared and the Munich video demonstrated this;
Diversity and difference make for success. One size does not fit all. It is important to embrace different perspectives. What works for Schiphol (eg flexible working) may not work for Munich… but we can learn from their experiences;
The incredible amount of energy required for Leadership. Leaders need to be resilient, mentally tough, focused and physically fit to sustain change and meet all the time consuming demands; and
Trust underpins all of this. Virtual working, collaboration, partnership, intercultural understanding. It can take ages to build and only a moment to break.
Day Two: Sustainability
The second day kicked off with an exciting keynote from a globally recognised, iconic, local legend: Scuderia Ferrari. Fittingly, its Director of Operations Corrado Lanzone spoke about the need for speed. “If you are totally in control you are going too slowly!” he emphasised. Leaders need to embrace contradictions, ambiguity, and apparent opposites simultaneously. They need to be able to resolve dilemmas and paradoxes at the highest level. His own personal insight was very powerful… allow the team to come up with the solution even if you as the leaders feel there is no hope.
Finally, delegates heard about the urgency of building sustainable leadership plans and of the importance of bringing the next generation on board. It cannot be left
to chance.
Bologna proved to be an excellent match for this event, with the airport CEO Nazareno Ventola and his team providing superlative Italian hospitality, showcasing the hidden treasures of Bologna, its local artisan produce, wonderful architecture and their airport, which has innovation and team spirit firmly at its core.
