Cruising makes for a great vacation; I myself have been on over a half dozen. Potential seasickness and over-indulgence aside, there is always plenty to do, plenty to see, and it’s all wrapped up in one neat little and affordable package. And no, I’m not getting paid by as a CLIA spokesperson. Fun in the sun aside, the industry has been making headlines recently, and not in a good way. With the Costa Concordia and Carnival Triumph disasters, for many cruising is starting to seem like a risky vacation. This week, a fire cut short a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas, prompting thousands of cruise-goers to have their vacation come to an abrupt end, and Royal Caribbean to spend a boat load (pun intended) of money to get passengers back home and provide reparations.
But, unlike how Carnival Cruises leadership handled the situation with the Triumph, Royal Caribbean has taken an extremely different stance of coping with this crisis, one of prompt communication and accountability. This approach will probably allow them to recover much more easily in the public eye and maintain brand enthusiasm and customer engagement. And it all comes down to the leadership difference!
Less than 48-hours after the initial fire, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein boarded the damaged ship to meet with the stranded passengers, released a statement fully refunding each cruise-goer, and offered a certificate towards a future cruise. They didn’t try and put a heavy PR spin on things. They exhibited their Gold Anchor Service, from the top down. Royal Caribbean immediately took to social media, interacting openly with the public via Twitter and Facebook; they even established a specific toll free phone number to provide further details on the incident to friends and family of those on board.
This is in complete contrast to the reaction of Carnival — they neglected providing detailed social media accounts for several days, and took their time issuing a statement to the public (and even longer for a half hearted apology!) The lack of successful corporate leadership and strategy, particularly in terms of customer engagement, has really affected the ability of a rapid Carnival comeback – additional incidents haven’t help much either.
However, Royal Caribbean’s leadership and strategy of addressing the issue immediately and completely owning up to their problem, can only serve as a positive toward a rapid recovery.
So, what traits did Royal Caribbean leadership exhibit that make for an example of why Royal Caribbean rocked it and Carnival crapped out…
Communication: Being in a leadership position can sometimes be a solitary role; and one that can disconnect you from employees and customers. Often leaders make decisions in a vacuum and rely on managers or supervisors to communicate important information downward – as was the case with Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill. Adam Goldstein, Royal Caribbean’s CEO, didn’t make this mistake. He communicated with transparency, and thus connected personally, with employees and customers impacted by the incident on Grandeur. Successful leaders lead through two-way communication. Particularly in turbulent times, people value genuine direct interaction and communication from leaders. This not only helps to show that leaders are remaining committed to the people, but also offers an opportunity for them to step out of the “tower” and build relationships with employees and customers.
Accountability: In the wake of the Triumph incident Mr. Cahill seemed to be coming off like a stereotypical ivory tower CEO. On the other hand, Mr. Goldstein didn’t come off as aloof, nor did he try to make excuses. One appeared to be an in touch and transparent leader and the other not so much. From what I’ve seen and heard, Mr. Cahill’s attitude regarding the Triumph incident was a bit disingenuous, more profit before people, while Mr. Goldstein appeared more genuine. Good leaders just own it – the good or the bad! Be a grown up, be an honest, transparent, accountable, and authentic leader. Acknowledge that things don’t always go exactly as planned – and don’t whine and make excuses – but let employees and customers know you see it too. Make an effort to relate to what employees or customers are going through, share next steps you plan to take to reevaluate and improve. That’s what builds trust in a leader – and in my experience trust in leadership is correlated to high performing organizations with committed employees, loyal customers, and increased performance!
Compassion: The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to the organization and customers; compassion for people and both their professional and personal situations. His Holiness the 14th Dali Lama says, “I call compassion the global staple…for all people in every endeavor.” In the eyes of employees and customers, what leadership does effects the organization’s objectives, and impacts their well-being and experiences. When a person is deciding if they respect a leader, they don’t think about attributes, rather they observe and see what leaders do. Observations can often tell employees and customers if a leader is an honorable and trusted person or a self-serving person, one who misuses authority to look good and get promoted or puts profit before people. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey them not follow them, and their customers easily lose trust in their brand. When leaders show compassion and understanding, it becomes easier for people to notice that they are interested and concerned, and not self-serving and aloof.
It may be too early to declare how both Carnival and Royal Caribbean will recover from the incidents; although the difference in leadership and strategy will certainly be a contributing factor.
About: Scott Span, MSOD, CSM: is CEO & People Strategist, Communications and Change, at Tolero Solutions. He supports clients to engage and retain talent and wow customers, achieving success through people, creating organizations where people enjoy working and customers enjoy doing business.
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