How to Lead Through Crisis—Building Trust, Courage, and Culture at Alaska Airlines | Ben Minicucci

Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

Dr. Michael Gervais

Sport Psychology, Finding Mastery, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Business, Self Help, Michael Gervais, Health & Fitness, Mindset, Psychology, Self-improvement, Education

4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What does it take to be a great leader in moments of calm and crisis? And how do you maintain strength in a heartfelt way?

Ben Minicucci is the CEO of Alaska Airlines — where he leads with a values-first approach rooted in trust, accountability, and care. With a background in engineering, military service, and operations, Ben is redefining what it means to lead a high-performance culture at scale.

Ben is one of the most respected leaders in modern aviation, guiding Alaska through bold transformation — including their recent acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines — while doubling down on the values that got them here: be remarkable, be kind-hearted, deliver performance, own safety, and do the right thing.

Ben leads with unwavering values, deep relational intelligence, and a sharp sensitivity to culture. As you listen to this episode, I’d invite you to reflect, how do you hold space for truth and vulnerability? What’s your relationship with accountability, especially when the stakes are high? And where in your own life might deeper care create greater outcomes?

Let’s dive into this masterclass episode with Ben Minicucci.

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Transcript

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1:23.7	mastery for 35% off your first subscription order. I got the call and I heard the
1:30.4	make cab a door blow out, which was really weird for me because I knew the door and I'm like,
1:33.7	well, that door just doesn't blow out. It's bolted on. So it was two quick questions I asked. I said,
1:37.4	hey, what kind of airplane is? Max. It's a max? And I said, how old is it? 10 weeks? So my maintenance and engineer mind went in. I said, well, that door
1:44.8	doesn't get checked for two years. I have to be sure I got to check 65 airplanes. We grounded the
1:50.2	fleet before the FAA grounded the worldwide fleet before everyone else. It was like, no, put safety first.
1:56.1	What does it take to be a great leader in moments of calm and in crisis. How do you maintain strength in a heartfelt way?
2:03.6	Welcome back. Or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I am your host, Dr. Michael Jerva, by trade and
2:09.1	training a high-performance psychologist. And this week's guest is Ben Minnacucci, the CEO of Alaska Airlines.
2:15.3	Ben is one of the most respected leaders in modern aviation.
2:18.8	He's guiding Alaska through bold transformation,
	...

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