FEO Guest Speaker Lunch: People-Powered Leadership - Insights from Linda Moir

At the recent For Entrepreneurs Only Guest Speaker Lunch, Linda Moir, a distinguished leader in customer service and employee engagement, shared her remarkable journey and invaluable lessons on transforming organisations through a focus on people.

Linda’s career began in HR at British Airways, followed by a pivotal role guiding National Air Traffic Services through privatisation. However, it was her appointment in 2003 as Virgin Atlantic’s Director of In-Flight Services that truly showcased her transformative impact. Tasked by Sir Richard Branson to “make flying fun,” Linda revolutionised recruitment, training, promotion, and performance for 5,000 cabin crew.

Her mantra, “Brilliant Basics, Magic Touches,” became the cornerstone of a service culture that not only lifted customer satisfaction to record levels but also encouraged customers to pay a premium for superior experiences.

London Olympics Games Makers

Linda’s leadership brilliance shone again in 2012 when she managed the Event Services team at the London Olympics & Paralympics Games. By blending professional stewards with 15,000 enthusiastic volunteer Games Makers, Linda and her team delivered warm, witty, and pride-filled service to nearly 9 million spectators. Her approach proved that a “good product wrapped in brilliant service” can elevate reputation, even within tight budgets.

Managing Volunteers

Central to Linda’s philosophy is recognising that employee engagement drives customer satisfaction. Success with the London Olympics volunteers emphasised empowering people to bring their full personalities to their roles, rotating tasks to broaden skills, and acknowledging contributions with meaningful, low-cost rewards.

Addressing Problem Performance

She also highlighted the importance of addressing underperformance promptly, as tolerating poor behaviour demoralises teams and undermines service quality.

Linda advocates acquiring feedback through conversational methods to gain qualitative insights rather than relying solely on numeric scores, and encourages organisations to uncover what truly motivates staff beyond financial rewards, especially in industries with high turnover.

Linda’s experience spans some of the UK’s most iconic institutions, providing a masterclass on how optimistic and ethical leadership can drive exceptional performance and memorable customer experiences. Her talk serves as a call to action for organisations to prioritise the human element in delivering outstanding service.

At Entrepreneurs Only (FEO), we understand that entrepreneurial success is fuelled by more than effort alone - it thrives on ongoing learning, valuable relationships, and fresh inspiration. Our guest speaker lunches go beyond ordinary presentations; they are thoughtfully curated events that ignite new ideas, provide meaningful engagement, and build authentic relationships within our special community.

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