Interview with Andy Cross

Citation

(2008), "Interview with Andy Cross", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 22 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2008.08122baf.001

Interview with Andy Cross

Article Type: Leading edge From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 22, Issue 2.

Interview with Andy Cross

Andy Cross is Head of Organization and People Development at Virgin Atlantic, a role which provides him with the opportunity to lead on subjects such as talent, leadership, and change, as well as overseeing a team who have delivered award-winning e-learning, become the first airline to offer its own accredited management qualifications and have recently launched revenue-generating training and consultancy. Previously a director of human resources, he has a diverse background in customer services, change management and consultancy. He loves sharing ideas with others and helping people, teams and organizations to perform.

What attracted you to working in this field?

I’m fascinated by what makes people perform at their best in a variety of different situations. I’ve always been an enthusiastic, and occasionally successful, sportsman so I feel very fortunate to be able to translate my own interest and experience into the day job. Every day I learn something new about people, teams and organizations and what influences and defines success. That said, my original move into HR was driven by a desire to move away from my specialism in pensions admin.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in your current role at Virgin Atlantic Airways?

The airline industry is a very unpredictable and difficult environment in which to grow profitably. We’ve created a fantastic airline in the eyes of our customers and this is largely down to the pride and positive nature of our people. In many ways, our challenge is not to be seduced by our success and relax. We have a significant change agenda ahead and we’ll only achieve our aims if we create the mindset, energy and capability to lead this change throughout the airline. I have a role to play in achieving this challenge.

What is the most influential book you have read and why?

Winning by Frank Dick OBE contains the ideas of one of the most influential people I’ve worked with in recent years. However, the single most influential book for sheer practicality and scope in the field of OD has to be The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge.

In your opinion what are the biggest obstacles to effective learning and development in organizations?

It’s usually a couple of things. Firstly, operational pressures can quickly strip away the time to think and create an unhealthily narrow focus on functional activity. Secondly, ego stops people and organizations looking to learn.

What measures do you have in place at Virgin to effectively counter these obstacles?

Ego can invariably be overcome with a relationship built on trust, by taking the time to understand concerns and by skilled coaching. Operational pressure and focus are often overcome by keeping any intervention “bite sized”, relevant and simple. We’ve also had real success with cross functional groups breaking down the barriers that invariably come with organizational growth.

At the CIPD conference you delivered a session about talent management. In your opinion is there enough done in organizations to identify and develop existing employees’ strengths?

No, there is plenty of time and money spent on identifying and developing personal weaknesses. All too often you end up investing in trying to get that square peg into a round hole. I believe that a strength-based approach brings out the best in people it lets people bring their personality to work and thrive; working with differences makes the difference.

Could you describe the leadership development program at Virgin for our readers?

Our recent leadership development program has been focused on our leaders, which is a reverse of where the development spend would usually go in the airline. This is an acknowledgement of the impact this level will have on success in time of change. We’ve taken a relatively unstructured approach to our LDP with its future direction being guided by the executive directors, what’s happening in the business and participant feedback. This emergent approach helps keep the program timely and relevant. The main elements have been:

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  Getting consensus on the leadership principles that will drive our success.

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  Creating time for people to think about what they can achieve; with a skilled coach and thought provoking activities.

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  Providing relevant “events” where our leaders try out some new ideas and learn together.

How do you measure the success of this program?

We’ll know we have been successful when we achieve our business ambitions and the quality of our leaders made the difference. In reality, it’s tough to measure this direct contribution. At the most basic level we measure and track the impact of each discrete activity. We also ask participants after 12 months to assess performance improvement, commitment and make an informed estimate of the financial return on investment. Our longer-term success measures are the extent to which leadership drives employee engagement and, ultimately, business success.

Where do you see development and learning in your organization in, say, ten years’ time?

I’d like to predict two significant changes. Firstly, technology will support real time sharing of ideas and advice that will go well beyond normal organizational boundaries and, therefore, creativity. Secondly, the whole concept of action learning will take a step forward as traditional organization structures continue to become blurred. I’d fully expect customers and partners to regularly be directly involved in learning activities and I’d also hope that learning would naturally flow upwards in an organization as we increasingly listen to generation Y.

What is your biggest achievement to date in the learning and development field?

I’m most proud of the achievements of the people who I’ve personally been able to inspire in some way; my team, participants in programs and my children. Whilst I recognize that financial success is important, at a personal level I have to value seeing people achieve their dreams.

Which company or organization do you most admire in relation to development and learning?

Manchester United; the ability to find and bring out the best in new talent, blend together experience and enthusiasm quickly and always push the boundaries of performance in a way that means success is sustained over decades, not just a season.