#238: Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines – Never stop improving

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ever catch yourself coasting after a big win? That’s the moment today’s guest would tell you to push even harder. In this episode of How Leaders Lead, Delta CEO Ed Bastian shares how he keeps one of the world’s most awarded airlines moving forward—without getting complacent. You’ll see how his mindset of continuous improvement shapes Delta’s culture, sharpens performance, and helps his team stay ahead in one of the world’s most competitive industries. You’ll also learn: One factor that can always differentiate your business The surprising way that product quality shapes your culture An inspiring mindset for anyone who’s in a tough moment What Tom Brady (yes THAT Tom Brady) is teaching Delta Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: ⁠⁠The How Leaders Lead App⁠⁠: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go ⁠⁠Daily Insight Emails⁠⁠: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The accolades are nice, but it's totally irrelevant.
0:02.6	It's really what you do today and tomorrow.
0:04.3	That matters.
0:05.6	And you got to go out and prove it and do it better every single day.
0:16.9	Ever catch yourself coasting after a big win?
0:19.8	If so, you do not want to miss today's episode.
0:23.5	Welcome to How Leaders Lead.
0:25.1	I'm David Novak, and every week I have conversations with the very best leaders in the world
0:29.8	to help you become the best leader that you can be.
0:33.6	My guest today is Ed Bastion, the CEO of Delta Airlines.
0:37.5	They've earned a reputation as the most awarded airline My guest today is Ed Bastion, the CEO of Delta Airlines.
0:49.6	They've earned a reputation as the most awarded airline in the United States, and they've done it while serving more than 200 billion customers every single year.
0:55.9	Ed himself has gotten some acclaim recently, having just been named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people right alongside Mark Zuckerberg and Snoop Dog, no less.
1:02.4	But here's what I love about Ed. The accolades really don't mean that much to him.
1:07.2	In a super competitive industry like the airline business, you can't rest on that reputation. You've got to
1:13.6	prove it again and again every single day. And that's how Ed goes to work every single day.
1:21.4	And that mentality to never stop improving is something you got to have if you want to stay
1:26.8	sharp and stay ahead.
1:29.3	So here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours, Ed Bastion.
1:41.9	You know, when I was doing my research, I learned that you didn't get on a plane until you were 25 years old.
1:47.4	Now you're running one of the world's biggest airlines.
1:50.2	That's quite the journey.
	...

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