Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines CEO, Ed Bastian CEO presented a keynote address in Las Vegas at the CES, (previously known as the Consumer Electronics Show), the world’s largest consumer technology show, in which he said that Delta Air Lines wants to transform the air travel experience by the year 2025.
Bastian described an experience that starts with requesting a ride to the airport via Delta’s app that, based upon up to the minute traffic, flight delays, and weather would tell you when you need to leave, how best to navigate through the airport, and which security checkpoint is fastest.
Next, because handling luggage is such a hassle, your bags would be picked up from your home and taken directly to your hotel, so you would not be burdened with hauling your suitcases to the airport, nor be delayed at baggage claim. Delta’s app would also track your bags as they move through the delivery process.
Choosing your seats would be a breeze because via augmented reality you would visually see what your seating options 
are.
Delta’s embracing of innovation extends to developing its own advanced in-flight entertainment systems and creating a battery-powered exoskeleton, or robotic suit, that provides cargo or maintenance personnel with superhuman strength to handle freight, machinery or heavy equipment.
Delta’s Goal
It is obvious that Delta’s goal is to become known as the airline that is using innovation effectively to differentiate itself from its competition. Their overall objective is to transform the travel experience through innovation.
To accomplish this, Bastian has been trying to ignite innovation within Delta in an enormous, game changing way. But innovation does not just happen within an organization, it must be initiated and effectively led by company executives.
Innovation is essential to the growth, profitability, and, more importantly, the sustainability of a company.
In a competitive, dynamic world the survival and success of an organization depends on innovation. But this innovation must be led from the top, it cannot just bubble up from the bottom of a business.
Transformational Leadership is a Main Ingredient for Innovation
This “leadership” of innovation cannot be the typical company leadership that is common in businesses, it must be Transformational Leadership.
Transformational leaders should be role models to their personnel. People who inspire and elevate their staff’s interest in pursuing the organization’s objectives. They challenge followers to take ownership for their effort and its outcome, thereby causing the staff members to align their daily activities with the company’s overall vision.
Transformational leadership creates an environment where innovation thrives. The need for innovation has resulted in a new focus on the role of leadership in shaping the nature and success of creative efforts. Studies show that an innovative climate is positively correlated to the presence of transformational leadership.
The Outcome of Transformational-Style Leadership
President Franklin D. Roosevelt and former General Electric CEO, Jack Welch, were both transformational leaders. To 
this day, we see the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s leadership on a regular basis, and Jack Welch’s innovations revolutionized General Electric.
While not every leader can attain FDR’s or Jack Welch’s success, studies show the more transformational qualities a leader possesses, the greater will be the organization’s innovation achievements.
Just like Ed Bastian is trying to do, transformational-style leadership identifies needed changes, creates an inspirational vision to guide the organization forward, and steers it through various challenges that may arise. In doing so transformational-style leadership provides the motivation, morale, and standard of performance required to achieve the vision. By its pursuit of a shared vision, the collective character of the organization is established.
Where to Start
First, embrace a transformational style of leadership by creating and communicating an inspirational vision to guide your organization forward. This includes seizing every opportunity to articulate, support, and promote innovation across your entire organization.
Depending on the size and complexity of your company, whether a corner coffee shop, a mid-sized service business, or an international manufacturing company, this could be very straightforward or quite complex.
Then, as Ed Bastian is doing, tell your employees where you want your company to go, because innovation just does not happen within an organization, it must be effectively led from the top by Transformational Company Executives, it does not just bubble up from the bottom of an organization.
The most important thing is to get started right away because the world is changing before your very eyes.
If you could use assistance with using Transformational Leadership to jump-start or speed your organization’s innovation efforts, please contact us using the information below so we can be a resource to you in this critical area.
Fountainhead Consulting Group, Inc. is an Innovation and Business Planning firm. During the past 17, years we have shown over 1,200 companies how to achieve their goals by using our unique, comprehensive, and systematic FastTrak Innovation Program™, Innovation Academy™, and Structure of Success™ methodologies. Using the components in these methodologies, each month we examine an aspect of how to transform your business or organization into a true 21st Century enterprise.
Office: (770) 642-4220
www.FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
George.Horrigan@FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
Tags: entrepreneur, front end of innovation, innovation, invention, small business consulting, small business planning, start a business
