Ground Support Worldwide - 18

COVER STORY

of got me back to my roots - a
smaller, more agile, operation,
closer to the decision-makers.
But, TAS is also supported
by CCR, one of the largest
infrastructure companies
in the world, that also
does the design, finance,
build and management
of airports. It's the
best of both worlds.
"I really came in just
supporting procurement and maintenance,"
Perry continues. "We've
had significant growth
over the last three years
and I've been privileged
to support that growth
in my three years here."
When Perry moved
into a more aggressive role, tasked with
overseeing all passenger services and cargo
warehousing, he became responsible for all
locations, all financial performance, all operations performance and all safety.
"Dana has successfully led very complicated
startups that required significant additions of
staff and equipment with minimal lead times,"
says Tano, noting a massive and simultaneous
multi-account start-up at LAX in 2018.
Perry directly manages five positions. Three
are regional GMs that, between them, oversee
eight stations. The company's financial analyst
and director of GSE maintenance also report
to Perry.
TAS' stations are split into regions. All station managers report to Perry's operations team;
and they are responsible for station operations
as well as regional profits and losses (P&Ls).
"So, I do have good coverage for oversight,"
Perry says. "I was definitely getting ran a little thin due to our quick growth, touching
everybody as often as I had to, to run the
organization. The organizational structure
has actually grown since I've moved into this
position, which was needed. We're still building
for future growth."

Communication and
Accessibility
With eight stations across the country, employing approximately 1,700 people, Perry's lead-

18 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE

ership is critical to the overall success of TAS.
The company's CEO admires Perry's ability
to communicate with his team, provide accessibility and display a willingness to teach.
"He also creates a collaborative environment
with his reports and empowers them to lead
and make decisions," Tano says. "Additionally,
he delegates with full understanding of what
specific efforts are required for successful outcomes. And, like all excellent leaders, he knows
when to step into the fray when his subordinates need him to."
Perry says it is all about the people.
He believes developing relationships with
staff better enables leaders to offer support
and equip team members with the appropriate
skills.
"To me, the first piece of success - or failure
- is either communication or a lack of communication," Perry says. "I don't have a lot of
meetings, but I do have a lot of conversations.
I talk to all my direct reports daily."
He says his team will schedule formal meetings if that is what's required. But typically, his
team doesn't wait for those moments. Instead,
they pick up the phone and talk once or twice
a day.
"I get tired of typing emails all day. I'd rather
pick up the phone and maybe back it up with
an email if it needs to be documented," Perry
says. "That's my approach to how I communicate with my team."
To keep lines of communication open, Perry
also emphasizes input from the field. He regularly visits stations in person to gather firsthand information and make himself accessible
to the team.
"I'm definitely approachable to anything
that's needed," Perry says.
According to Perry, efficient operations are a
product of three fundamentals - planning, execution and accountability. While the nature of
this business can often be reactionary, if those
three elements are established, Perry says his
team can handle anything.
"Unfortunately, the nature of this business
is that there's still a lot of reaction to things," he
says. "But with those three key things in place,
we're definitely more prepared for anything that
can be thrown at us."
With those fundamentals in place, Perry can
tailor his leadership style to get the most out
of specific employees' strengths and mitigate
weaknesses.

MAY 2020

"I expect managers to run their business, but
I'm always there to support them. They can
always escalate something up to me, and I'll
put that on my shoulders and work with them
on any challenges," Perry says. "I always ask
them to come up with some ideas, and then
we'll work together on those things."
He has discovered that keeping his team
involved in the decision-making process has
been valuable.
"I learned that early on because I'm not
someone who keeps information in and I don't
want to be the controller," Perry says. "I'm not
the best at everything. I like to have people that
can do things a little better than me as well."
"I like when it's feasible to have as much
input from them. I like them to be vested in
decisions," Perry says. "They know they can
speak up if they have a better idea. I'm always
open to it."
He says leadership trickles down. He likes
to see the things he does for his direct reports
be passed along to their reports.
"Even starting from an agent, to a lead, to
a supervisor, hopefully I wouldn't have to tell
them how to do it. All they would have to do
is watch what I do and learn from what I do,
and then pick those things up," Perry says. "My
example is important."
Perry is also willing to help his team members outside the parameters of work, if it's
needed.
"That's something that kind of comes with
time," Perry says. "A lot of managers like to keep
it pretty stiff on how they interact with their
employees.
"I've just found that it's easier to not only be
their boss, but to be their friend to a certain
extent."
Perry experienced similar friendships from
his mentors early in his career.
Jack Michalek shared many of his personal
experiences with Perry, from working his way
through Continental to opening Aviation West.
Because it was a small operations and Perry
spent 14 years working side-by-side, their
relationship grew. Perry benefited from that
and tries to pay it forward with his current
colleagues.
"I do like to know my reports a little outside
of work, too. What they do and what their interests are and support them at work or maybe out
of work to, if need be," he explains.
Perry continued to learn from others after

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