Watch the Language

August 25, 2007

Colleen Barrett is the president and COO of Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.

I’ve always felt that my intuition was pretty darn good, and I think I can read people well. I rely a ton on my gut. I know the mood of our different work groups. I know the expectations of our employees.

I think people are generally born with a predisposition for this type of emotional awareness. But I certainly believe you can enhance your ability just from experience and learning. I’ve probably gotten better at it over the years because I read and listen to everything, and I’m constantly observing. I watch body language and how people interact.

The other day, I was talking to one of our officers, and he said,“How do you do that?”and I said,“How do I do what?” He was referring to a meeting we’d both been at earlier. I’d asked one of the presenters at the meeting, a fellow who reported to this officer, if he was feeling OK. The officer thought the employee was fine, but, it turns out, the poor guy had had a pretty traumatic experience in his personal life the night before. His presentation went well, but he seemed off to me, distracted. I suppose in order to have seen that, I must have been fairly attuned to what this fellow’s presentations were usually like.

I rely on calmer people around me to give me those raised eyebrows that say, “Lower the passion a little bit.”

I often communicate on a passionate, emotional level–which can be a detriment, particularly for a woman in a predominantly male leadership group, as ours was for many years.

There were times when I’d launch in on an issue and make gut-level assertions like, “Our customers feel this,” and “Our employees feel that.” Though everyone in the group would probably deny it, I know that part of their reaction to my outbursts was,“Oh, that’s just Colleen, and she’s on a tangent,” and they would tend to disregard what I was saying. I’ve learned to rely on calmer people around me to give me those raised eyebrows that say, “Lower the passion a little bit, and people will listen more.” When I’m making my arguments, I have to really prepare and try to be – and this is very difficult for me – factual and dispassionate.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.