Southwest Airlines Co.
Ellen Torbert — Vice President of Reservations
Ellen Torbert began her career with Southwest Airlines Co. in March of 1987
and moved up the ranks to become vice president of reservations. In this role,
Ms. Torbert is responsible for leading Southwest’s reservations department of
more than 3,000 employees.
She previously held the positions of reservations sales agent, reservations
supervisor, reservations assistant manager, manager reservations training and
director reservations training for Southwest Airlines. Her first paying job was
working as a waitress at Woolworth’s Department Store, where she remembers making really good tips.
Ms. Torbert received a BA from Western Michigan University.
She and her husband, Walter, have two children, Domonique and Ashton.
The best advice she ever received was to “get an education, because that is
one thing that no man can take from you.”
Q&A with Ellen Torbert
What are some steps that you took to get to the position that you are in
now?
I began my career at Southwest Airlines as a reservation sales agent at our reservations center here in Dallas, and wanted the
opportunity to become a supervisor. I have always enjoyed people, and truthfully, I wanted to be a school teacher, because I
like the opportunity of training and teaching and saw that our supervisors were doing just that. Then the opportunity came for
a promotion, and I was selected as a quality assurance team supervisor, which gave me an opportunity to lead people; I had
about 15 individuals on my team. What I liked most about that was that you would start with someone who did not have a lot
of information, for instance in the new-hire classes. By the time they were finished, they had gained so much knowledge and
enthusiasm because they had accomplished something new, that even I was excited for them. I really felt like I was going to
remain a supervisor for the remainder of my career here at Southwest Airlines because I just loved it.
Then the doors of opportunity really started to open. I was promoted to assistant manager of the center then was offered the
manager of training position. I was really comfortable in the center location because I knew the people and they knew me.
The decision to move to headquarters was kind of tough for me. The deciding factor was that I would have the opportunity to
touch more people. I would be responsible for overseeing the training at all of our reservations centers. At Southwest Airlines
we have a university for people where you can attend classes to enhance your skills—communication skills, supervisor skills—
so I enrolled in some of those classes. I kept my eyes and ears open for opportunity and eventually became director of training. I was then promoted to my current position of vice president.
What are some things that you learned on the job and not in the classroom?
My major in college was in the area of engineering, manufacturing administration, which teaches you to go out in corporate
America and start in a company at a supervisor level. My college major required me to attend classes such as drafting, marketing, communications and OSHA, which was for the occupational safety rules. It prepared me to walk into a corporation and
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learn that business with the ability to handle supervisor responsibilities. And so, with that background, it’s been very helpful
in terms of learning and juggling a number of things at the same time. That was one of my major takeaways from college.
When I got to Southwest Airlines, it was about the people, and really adapting to the personality of the individuals that you
lead and guide. I have a team of 15 people; it’s up to me to adapt 15 different ways. What I’ve learned and what I try to teach
those that I lead is that if you can adapt and get a person to want to follow you, then you’re going to be a good leader. Listening
is the key to understanding what a person is saying to you, and what they’re asking of you.
I’m a big sports fan, so I love the concept of coaching and having a team. As leaders, we are the coaches; we have to get our
team to see the vision of winning. They have to see what we want them to accomplish. Seeing themselves as part of our success; hitting our goal, winning the championship, whatever it might be; they have to understand they are a big part of it.
Do you think there is a glass ceiling in your industry? If so, how can minorities avoid hitting that glass ceiling?
I personally would not call it a “glass ceiling.” I think that at times there may be that perception, but what I believe is happening is that sometimes, as individuals, we may not have all the information necessary to prepare ourselves to be competitive
or to truly understand all that’s expected. Many times, I believe, when we approach an opportunity, we may not have done all
of our homework. I can speak for myself here at Southwest Airlines and for my department personally; we are a diverse group
of individuals. At Southwest Airlines, we believe that we should mirror, as a company, our customers; and our leadership
should mirror those we lead. We’re conscious of that and because we have such an open-door policy in our Southwest culture,
people are very comfortable just walking up to leaders and asking, “How can I do what you’re doing? How can I move forward in my career path? What are some of the things that you do?” I get that from all races of people. I’ve actually had people come up to me and say, “Will you take me on and mentor me?”
I just want to be the best at what I do. Even though I am not one seeking to climb to the top of the corporate ladder, I keep my
eyes opened for advancement opportunities. When I was a supervisor, I thought, “If I remain a supervisor, I will be thrilled.”
Being in this role, I am very happy and satisfied. I’m not seeking to be CEO of Southwest Airlines. In every position I’ve
ever held, I always feel like there’s so much more to do in that role. And I still feel that way now. There are so many people
who want to do more and we want to help them. Our company has goals that we want to meet; therefore, by helping others to
reach their goals, they will in turn help us reach ours.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your career? What would you most
like to change?
The most rewarding is the opportunity to work with such amazing people. I love listening and helping others to come up with
solutions. What would I change? I wish that I had more time for our people, but we have to balance our time with our daily
business. There’s a certain percent of our time where we deal with operations, strategies, targets and goals and so you have to
create as much of a balance as you can. I like verbal communication and we’re in the age of e-mail, so I get a little nervous
that sometimes I think e-mail replaces the actions of someone just walking two doors down the hallway and coming in and
talking to me. I try to make sure that our team has a casual lunch every now and then, to ensure we maintain that personal
touch, as it is an important part of our working relationship. I think that’s extremely important with the people that we work
with every day.
What are some tips for acquiring better communication skills?
In my younger years, I was very shy, the type of individual that would go to a party and stand against the wall and never move.
I was always observing. When I first applied for supervisor, I had individuals tell me, “You’re not tough enough. You probably won’t get the job because you’re so quiet and so nice. You need to speak up more.” So what I have learned is to be comfortable with speaking up, to be comfortable with just being who I am. To me, the true person that you are comes out from
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within. I truly care about people and I believe it shows. I observe people who are very good at communicating and have had
some great leaders who are articulate and care about people by showing their compassion. Because I tend to move in that direction, I have learned to be very comfortable with actually stepping out there and doing it myself. I ask my employees “How
can I improve for you?” It is important to surround yourself or get exposure to individuals who possess those skills you desire
for yourself. There have been times where I just sat quietly in a meeting and think later, “Why didn’t I say that?” I believe
that over time individuals become more comfortable with their communications skills if they put them into practice.
What impact has your career had on your personal and family life? Do you
have any special techniques, methods and philosophies that help you maintain a work/life balance and be a successful professional?
I’m married and have two children. My daughter, who is 25, is in the Air Force and my 21-year-old son is enrolled in aviation
school where he acquired his private pilot’s license. They actually have “grown up” with Southwest. The people that I work
with, our families have grown up together, which makes it special because so many of the events and activities we have at
Southwest Airlines include family. I think you’d be amazed that our employees know our children and our spouses as well as
they know us, and that’s because of the incredible opportunities that our company provides for us to spend time together outside of work. So, the impact for my family is that they are excited about Southwest. My husband wears the shirts that say
“Southwest” on them, so when we’re in the supermarket, everybody comes up to him and wants to know about the company
and how can they get a job there.
As employees, we have to really stay conscious of the time that we spend away from our families. Sometimes, because we
enjoy our work and the people with whom we work, we forget what time it is. We put in a lot of hours at the office, along with
traveling. As I have six centers that I travel to, every now and then, I invite my husband to join me. I’ll take a day or two of
vacation, and then after finishing up my business, we go off and do something just for us. I’ve tried to make sure that I include
my family as much as I can in the activities that we have at work. There is definitely a challenge to maintaining a balance
between your career and your family life. For me personally, my faith comes first, next is my family, and then work, and sometimes that gets out of order, and when it does, that affects me personally. I constantly try to stay in check with my priorities.
Were your children influenced by your roles in Southwest to pursue aviation careers?
We have a Southwest Airlines pilot who is now retired who has had an interest in mentoring my son. Through high school our
pilot would bring my son here, and let him go through the flight simulator. My son has always had a desire to fly, and because
I started my career at Southwest Airlines when he was so young here, he has been exposed to the airlines for a long time. My
daughter went to the Air Force Academy. She wanted an environment that was competitive and the opportunity to be on the
track team, where she was “outstanding newcomer” her first year for them.
Who is/was the most inspiring person to you in your career path?
Before I came to Southwest Airlines, I was an assistant manager for Cosmopolitan Lady Health Clubs, a chain of all-woman
health clubs. I had a manager there that really brought me out of my shell. She encouraged me to envision myself being successful in whatever I decided to do. She was so good about painting a picture and having you in it, having you succeed and
getting you excited about it. That really influenced me in building my foundation, and moving forward: I thought, the sky’s
the limit. When I worked with her, I started to achieve sales levels I never experienced before. I was promoted, and that was
the first time in my career path where I believed that there was no stopping me, because I was going to prepare myself, I was
going to practice it, and I was going to get out there and do it well. I will always remember her for that.
At Southwest Airlines, I’ve had three former leaders in the current role that I hold today, and all three have now retired. I
learned something different from each one of them that has really helped me to become more of the whole leader that I am
today. And I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to learn directly from our President Colleen Barrett. She is my leader,
and there are none who compare to her!
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What advice do you have for a young person considering a career within
your company/industry?
I would say go with your heart’s desire. Don’t let the information highway out there deter you in really seeking what you desire
to do. Understand you’re going to have to work hard, but you should be able to balance work with fun. There should always
be an opportunity to have that balance.
Have you ever mentored, or mentored others? How can someone find a
mentor within their company/industry?
At Southwest, we don’t have a formal mentorship-type program, but we have many opportunities for mentoring. For instance,
we have all our new supervisors attend a new hire supervisor class. As a new supervisor, within 30 days of being hired, you’re
in class with supervisors from other departments, and you have opportunities for leaders to come in and talk to you. I’ve gone
into a number of those classes and talked about my role, my expectations of a leader, and my leadership style. I’ve had individuals come to me personally, and we’ve set up times to discuss those same topics on an individual basis as well.
I’m also on the board of a local YMCA here in Dallas so I’ve had an opportunity to work with the children there, and I’ve spoken to students at our local high schools. I’ve gone to my son’s college and I’ve talked to some of the aviation classes and
marketing classes and had an opportunity to just share with the youth there, who are looking to come into our industry, or are
about to go into the job market altogether. That also helps me because now I know what their interests are as well as what to
expect when they come to us. With the newer generations, I think they’re mentoring us just as much as we are them, because
there are different expectations today than there were 10 years ago. We talk a lot here at Southwest Airlines about benchstrength and we’re very conscious that we should be preparing individuals to one day replace us. We have to know what that
looks like and how to go about accomplishing it.
How is the environment different now than it was 10 years ago, in relation
to the types of skills that people now need to succeed?
Ten years ago, when individuals were looking to begin their careers, they were actually looking for a job where they planned
to work for a company for 10, 15, 20 years. Today, individuals are looking to occupy a job role for maybe two to three years,
and then they’re ready to move on and do something else. Today, customers want to be serviced quickly, and they want that
service with a positive attitude. Some of the skills that we focus on training is that of coaching and acknowledging good performance. Also, understanding and being able to facilitate “change management” is very important in today’s environment.
Why do you think young people are coming in today and thinking, “OK,
three years and then I’m done?”
I think I need to look at it from my children’s perspective, and how they’re being trained in school today. They’re trained to
be very strong individually and to succeed as an individual person. Now, they’re also trained, I believe, to be leaders. Our
youth are exposed to teamwork through study groups and they tend to involve themselves in teams such as sports. I think that
our society is geared toward obtaining higher education and gaining as much experience as possible to quickly become successful. Our youth are looking for self-fulfillment and individual success. Many believe that if you stay in a position for 10
or 15 years, it is because that is all you know how to do. And I think the expectation has just changed based on the guidance
and direction our youth have been given.
As leaders, we have to understand and help our employees accept changes and future expectations, because for some, the future
may look a little scary. I believe change is good; we just have to be prepared for it.
If you were not in your current position, what would your dream career be?
I would be a motivational speaker, especially for women. I see the opportunity to encourage and help people to feel good about
themselves and what they have to offer, and if they have dreams and desires, just being a part of helping them to accomplish
that is exciting to me. Maybe once I retire I’ll get a chance to do a little bit of that somewhere. I just had an opportunity to
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speak at a women’s day program. That was a big deal for me to talk to women of all ages about communication and what
they’re doing with their life today and how they should be excited about it.
How were you able to speak at the women’s day function? Did you volunteer?
Actually, they asked me. They wanted me to share with the women how I had gotten to this point in my life and how we should
live our lives today in order to have everlasting life.
I grew up during the time of segregation, and believe me, that was a character building opportunity for me, that’s for sure. So
I could have gone in one direction or another and I just decided that I would not ever stand for people to be mistreated, no matter the color of their skin, or where they came from, or the amount of money they had, or the house they lived in. That has
really set a foundation for me just to care about people everywhere. I think that a person can overcome just about anything if
they put their mind to it and they have the opportunity to do so. You have to be prepared and understand that it’s not always
going to be your way. You just have to understand what it is you’re seeking and then expect to be given a fair chance.
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