Southwest Airlines was honored with the annual Performance Through People Award from the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement at Northwestern University at the recent Motivation Show.
Cheryl Hughey, director of leadership training, accepted the award—the perfect person to do so since she embodies the company's policy of promoting from within. Hughey started her career as a reservations sales agent, over time becoming manager of customer service training, and now she is responsible for selecting and training the next batch of Southwest leaders through the MIT (Manager in Training) program.
Launched in 2002 as a new unit within Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism's Integrated Marketing Communications Department, the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement develops research and education programs. Previous winners of this award include The Container Store, CDW Computer Centers, Dell, Nordstrom, Marriott, and Fifth Third Bank of Chicago.