Scott Kirby is a CEO who sends his employees a heartfelt email for their birthday, holiday and everything in between. The United Airlines CEO blessed the country on the 250th anniversary of its founding with a video forward to staff that was inspirational, heartfelt and, depending on how you interpret it, a little over-done.

For those who track Kirby's public message, the message played familiar tracks: United Airlines is doing something very meaningful for the world; its employees are very special; and the United States of America is without question the best nation on earth.

Let's look more carefully at what he said, what he meant, and where he falls on the spectrum between "cool" and "eye-roll".

This is what Kirby actually said

Kirby, who stood in front of what he called a “cool airplane,” began his remarks by mentioning that his favorite holiday was July 4th, which he said he could attribute to his real, deep affection for this country and all it stands for. He said that the level of freedom in America is "unprecedented around the world" and that United Airlines is in a real sense part of what it is to be American.

Much of his point was a rephrasing of the definition of what United Airlines does. The flying of people around isn't just a transportation industry, but the spreading of American culture, values and opportunity to the rest of the world, he argued. To bring international visitors to America to see what it's all about, and to take Americans abroad to see other views. According to Kirby, United's aircraft aren't transporting humans, they're transporting civilization.

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Not yet convinced by all of this skepticism, but let's first recognize what Kirby is right about in messages such as this. Being a major airline is an extremely busy operation, especially during the summer season, when every department, from gate agents to pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, ground crew etc., is affected by the high volumes, weather changes and those cascading delays that put a strain on everyone's day.

It's not nothing to communicate a sense of shared purpose and a larger mission during this most hectic time of the year. If employees feel like their work is important, like they're doing something that matters, they're more likely to bring their ‘A game' to challenging situations if the airline they work for feels they are doing something that matters. It's at least coherent and energizing in Kirby's approach as compared to the leadership-less leadership that has characterized American's public communication in recent years, at least.

For when the Message gets complicated

The United statement that they are “the best airline in the history of aviation” is an extraordinary one and one that has to be answered with a simple question: “how?” Profitability? On-time performance? Passenger experience? Breadth of network? Innovation? There have been airlines throughout the history of commercial aviation that have established standards in a way that is not easy to compare between eras and locations. If you want to make a claim that is an absolute superlative, you need to have some framework to support it or it's not inspiring, it's just imprecise.

The patriotism is obviously heartfelt but is similar in the sense of being certain. Kirby's claim that American freedom is unparalleled anywhere in the world is directly against evidence that is available to contradict him. The U.S. ranks 15th world-wide on the Human Freedom Index, which covers civil liberties, rule of law, personal freedom and economic freedom. That places Switzerland, Denmark, New Zealand and a few other countries meaningfully higher.

‍A message from the Irony of the “Global Airline” Messaging

One thing to note about Kirby's message is that there's tension in there. He's positioning United Airlines as a means of promoting American culture and values to the rest of the world, but his rhetorical strategy for talking about that is as American as can be. His mission statement, which includes “connecting people and uniting the world,” seems at variance with the notion that America has a “special destiny” on freedom and values, and that the importance of flying people around the world is related to spreading American influence.

A true cross-cultural exchange usually begins with curiosity and humility an understanding that other locations have things done differently, and sometimes better. Travel, in its best sense, teaches just that lesson. It's a bit unnatural to talk about international connection and also the end point of all that connection is the affirmation of American superiority.

What did the message do well and where did it go over the top:

• Effective: Linking the work of United's staff to a broader purpose throughout the year's peak operations time.
• Effective: Showing true respect for frontline employees facing an unprecedented summer travel season during a challenging operational season.
• Overreached: The "best airline in the history of aviation" claim, made without qualification or any supporting metric
• Overreached: When the U.S. is rated as "unprecedented in the world" for freedom when it is in fact ranked 15th behind numerous other peer countries on multiple dimensions of freedom.

The Bottom Line: Kirby's Leadership Style

This is not to imply nor suggest that Scott Kirby is cynical or actitively patriotic. From what we hear and see, he is sincere in what he says, not just regarding the situation of United in the industry, but about the United States. It is not nothing that that sincerity is there, and it's a leadership style that has made United a very real good airline in the last couple of years.

But sincerity and accuracy aren't the same thing. It is all the more ironic for a CEO whose airline's job is literally to connect the world; to open people up to the true scope of human experience, across borders and cultures.

Best Airline in the history of aviation? That's a big claim. The freest country in the world? A debatable one. A CEO who really cares about his airline and employees? At least on that point, there's not much wiggle room.

The Bottom Line

The message sent to United's workers from the company's CEO, Scott Kirby, on July 4th was all about Kirby patriotic, heartfelt, and a bit overly exaggerated in the claims. The U.S. having the "best airline in the history of aviation" and the U.S. having the "unprecedented freedom" in the world are dubious claims to make the Human Freedom Index rates the U.S. 15th out of 160 countries and the aviation industry has its fair share of counterarguments. 

It's just that they're making a sincere attempt to get United's employees to feel a sense of purpose and mission during the airline's peak travel season. It's good for the spirit of the message though whether the claims are accurate or not, and in that regard it's a pretty accurate description of Scott Kirby as a leader ambitious, energizing, and sometimes a bit fact-check needed.