Dermot Mannion on the Art of Listening, Developing Talent & What to do in a Crisis! EP065

Dermot Mannion has been the CEO of Aer Lingus, Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines and President of Group Services at Emirates Airlines. He now runs his own consulting and coaching business, Dermot Mannion Consulting.

I was lucky enough to have Dermot as a classmate during the Executive Coaching Diploma we were on together at the IMI in 2016. Right from the start, Dermot was someone I, and everyone on the course, was impressed by. So, when I started the podcast in 2017, he was one guest I really wanted to get on the show. I was delighted that we could make that happen.

During this hour long conversation, Dermot brings us through his career and shares valuable insights and lessons he’s learned along the way. From his early career with Ulster Bank, to the CEO position with Aer Lingus, going toe-to-toe with Ryanair, and then holding the role of deputy chairman with Royal Brunei Airlines. He has had quite the career so far.

It's a fascinating show. I know you’ll enjoy it.

A high-level summary of the topics discussed are listed below:

Dermot’s interest in Coaching & Mentoring During his Career
Developing and Nurturing young talent as a key interest all through his career
Citing Sir Maurice Flanaganas a huge influence and mentor to Dermot during his time with Emirates.
Key Leadership skills - Listening & Humility as two key attributes
Growing up in Sligo and how moving to Dublin for College was a huge change
In Trinity in the 1970s, Dermot was one of the first wave of students from the West of Ireland
Being an innocent country boy moving to Dublin and being somewhat overwhelmed by the place for the first 3 years
Remembering Joe Duffy and Gerry Ryan as students in Trinity at the time
Beginning to feel comfortable in the University just as the course was coming to an end
First exposure to the Airline Industry while working with Ulster Bank
Finance was a good stepping stone to be successful in the Corporate world!
Always enjoying the soft skills and finding Finance a difficult solitary pursuit
Taking a role with Emirates and moving to Dubai
Dermot sensed that both the City and Airline were going to grow and develop into something very special
Describing his time with Emirates as experiencing a real time PhD course in the industry
Standout moments during his 15 years at Emirates
Learning a lot from taking on a lead role in the IT Department
Success, Mistakes and Learnings from both!
Coaching Young Managers to Present Projects & Business Cases in simple ways!
The power of PowerPoint when used correctly and distilling a business case to one page/slide
Max of 20 slides for PowerPoint!
The power of culture in organizations
Experiences of different cultures in Dubai and Brunei
Creating a space for individuals in organizations to be as creative as they can be
Working at Brunei Royal Airlines, Dermot was giving time to listen
Taking a measured approach to leadership in his first 100 days
Presenting yourself in listening mode is sending a huge message
Experiences during the CEO Role with Aer Lingus and spending 4 years that were the most tumultuous during the Airlines history
Selling skills and how this developed and connecting this to Presentation skills
Big takeaways from the CEO Role with Aer Lingus
Dealing with the Media as a big challenge
It wasn’t just enough to be doing the job itself. The External dimension was key too.
Managing the internal & external challenges as a huge challenge
Learning to turn off the radio on his commute so he could not hear about the AerLingus privatisation
Praying and how this helps to unclutter and still the mind!
Work-life balance and having the ability to switch off!
A typical day now for Dermot working in consulting and as an advisor
Working with ExpertDealCloser.com as an advisor
Two Guests that Dermot would bring to dinner – Oprah & Pope John Paul II
Key tips:

Coaching & Listening skills
Finance as a good stepping stone to be successful in the Corporate world!
Asking the dump question is almost the most intelligent question to ask!
Keep things very simple
With PowerPoint – One message on One slide!! Tell the Story!
As a Leader, bring listening and presence to your work and role
Stand out advice – The first thing to do in a crisis is nothing
It’s much better to make no decision than a bad decision
Join Toastmasters as a great skill to develop public speaking skills
Turn off your Radio in the Car – Get used to the Silence – an opportunity to think!
Always have Hope!
Books:

The Shawshank Redemption – Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and good things never die!

On LinkedIn - Dermot Mannion.