I’m going to cheat a little because there are actually two “first jobs” that taught me valuable leadership lessons that I’ve carried with me in my time at United: The most valuable gift you can offer someone is your time, and what people will remember most about you is how you make them feel.
Truckin’
The summer just before I turned 15, I got my first job at a trucking company in North Texas. I spent 8 to 12 hours a day in and out of an 18-wheeler in the hot summer sun, helping to sort and load old copper cables that were due to be recycled.
It was hard work and an eye-opening experience, to say the least. The truckers swore, and said and did things I didn’t know were possible! But they also were kind, friendly and welcoming. I thought they were some of the coolest people I’d ever met, and I think they got a kick out of having an impressionable kid palling around with them. They made me feel like one of them.
Fast-forward a few years later as I walk through the doors at the Pentagon as a 22-year-old for my first “adult” job. At the Pentagon, I met seasoned leaders who saw my potential, and even though I was young and inexperienced, they were willing to invest their time in me. I was a second lieutenant assigned to the Economic Analysis and Resource Planning department, and even though I was a junior member of the team, I’d find myself part of hours-long conversations about how to tackle some of the most complex geopolitical challenges of the time. And these leaders weren’t just mentors; they were friends. Outside of work, we all played Civilization and would draw out elaborate maps on whiteboards in the office to frame out our strategies.
Like the truck drivers, the people at the Pentagon invested their time in me and treated me like an equal, like someone whose opinion mattered and someone they believed could succeed.
And they weren’t the only ones. From my teachers and Little League coaches who I absolutely idolized and drove nuts with all my questions and debates, to my parents who were the center of my world, I really hit the lottery with people who made me feel special and gave me their time. My mom did it while also raising six kids, then in her 40s went back to college, and ultimately graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas law school. And my dad basically spent every weekend with me from the time I was 5 until I left for the Air Force Academy at 17. We’d either be in Goldsboro, Texas, where my grandmother lived, to hunt, fish, and help with the cows, or we stayed in Rowlett [a Dallas suburb] and played golf.
Lessons learned
So, as I reflect on these first job lessons, it also helped me realize that I really have a simple job: Create an airline that makes our employees feel proud to work at United, and they will take care of our customers.
That means when I’m out in our operation I try and meet with as many employees as I can, just to hear what’s on their minds and what they’d like to see us do better or differently. They often tell me how proud they are of United Airlines, and nothing makes me feel better.
And the same goes for our customers. When I’m on a flight or in a restaurant or walking in Lincoln Park [in Chicago], they stop to tell me how much they love United and it’s almost always about something one of our people did for them. I tell them that we’re focused on building the best airline in history for customers, and that includes delivering value to every customer, regardless of where they sit on the airplane. That’s everything from providing easier, more direct routes to the places they want to go and running an operation where their flight leaves and arrives on time, to delivering products, technology, services, and experiences onboard that make people say, “Wow, that’s cool.”
Spending time with people and focusing on how they feel is how I’ve spent my time at United. And all the people that loved me, took an interest in me, and gave me their time made me the person I am today.
My First Job is a recurring series in which prominent business leaders share what their first job was and what they learned from it.
