The launch of the ‘Leadership in Passenger Transport Awards’ got me thinking about what makes a good leader – and a bad one
Transport Events Group, the provider of the only industry shindig worth attending (the UK Bus Awards), has launched the inaugural ‘Leadership in Passenger Transport Awards’ for 2026. Led by all-round good guy, Crystal Palace fan and seasoned industry expert Chris Cheek, it aims to shine a light on great leaders across all modes and disciplines – from project managers and marketeers to local authority policy-makers and many more.
I’ve been ruminating on who might be getting the plaudits at Cheeky Boy’s ceremony this summer, but in doing so, I’ve cemented in my mind my views on the recipe for great and gruesome leaders in transport. Here are some of my musings, written with a disclaimer that, for many, I must have been insufferable to work for and the last person to write a leadership manual. I truly wince at having been transport’s ultimate David Brent over the years.
Don’t put on a silly voice
It astonishes me how some senior leaders perceive frontline employees. There are a few who display such condescending behaviour towards them that it’s obvious they think they are in some kind of lower class. The biggest idiots – and I’ve said this previously – are those mindless morons who take selfies with them on buses or trains, referring to them as salt-of-the-earth legends that are what the industry is all about. They use them as performing seals to draw attention to themselves instead. Then, on the rare occasions they actually engage in a meaningful conversation, they are astounded to learn that they can string a coherent sentence together and are often more qualified than themselves, with diverse and interesting backgrounds. Or, on the occasions when they talk back and put their senior manager on the spot with a difficult question or feedback they’d prefer not to hear, the boss sweats, splutters, huffs and puffs pathetically or makes a sharp exit.
Many leaders put on a silly voice, like a children’s TV presenter, when they talk to frontline colleagues. Just act normally, this species, believe it or not, is also known as ‘homo-sapiens’, no different to you.
Bring more than ‘shouty shouty’
Many leaders don’t put in the hard yards. I’m not suggesting they should immerse themselves in the detail all the time, getting in the way of the experts in their team, but leadership is more than just walking round stations and depots trying to act charismatic and making a few soundbites, or mouthing off constantly on social media like a gameshow host. I’m always amazed to find senior managers who claim never to write papers, yet always have their team write them. I’m never impressed by a bus MD who doesn’t devour a map of their network and, in tandem research the market characteristics and demographics across each area within their portfolio, just as I’ve never respected a rail commercial director who might not spend hours understanding fares elasticities, price sensitivities and the impact of socio-economic factors on demand on a regional and local level.
It astonishes me how some leaders perceive frontline employees
People want to see substance from their leader and for them to demonstrate expertise in a particular subject matter within which they are accountable, or at the very least, a desire to be inquisitive, conduct research and develop cogent and well-informed plans. To do anything less is plain lazy.
Stay clean
It’s not a bad idea for a senior leader to demonstrate role-model behaviours. I titter when I see bosses arrange unnecessary overnight stays across parts of their network (generally fiddling expenses to facilitate their loveless trysts) or, as once happened to me, sit on their phone and ‘butt-dial’ me instead so that I could hear them and their subordinate mistress whispering sweet nothings in their ear. I recall one useless senior leader going utterly apoplectic with me when I dared criticise a junior person in the team who he was particularly close to, only, in later years, for me to find out that they were having an extra-marital affair together. So, it’s best, in order to command respect and be objective in decision making and judgment, to keep shenanigans away from work, just as it tends not to pay getting involved in backhanders or having your hand in the till, in some shape or form. Even if it’s swept under the carpet, staff tend to know, and reputations are tainted forevermore.
It’s not about you
My key judge of character is the extent to which someone shows an interest in another person during a conversation. You’d be surprised how many leaders, either in one-to-ones with their subordinates or in the tours of their network, don’t ask a single question about the individual they are talking to. Others will turn up at a station or depot and not know a single shred of information about the place. Do your research in advance and be ready to have an engaging conversation rather than just talk about yourself and your tedious life.
Don’t be boring
As the years pass, I have been less convinced of the overriding need for a leader to have charisma in spades. I used to think this was the pre-requisite dominant trait, but I’ve seen too many buffoons over the years act with ebullience and energy, though unsupported by genuine action or results. However, I still believe that charisma, to some degree, is important. Self-starting ability and motivation among employees will only go so far; we all need to feel inspired, to be part of a journey, with context and a shared purpose.
Sadly, the transport industry, in recent times, has been fixated on risk aversion, compliance and ‘status quo’. Put an outspoken, maverick entrepreneur capable of engaging teams, alongside some dull, goody-two-shoes, crowd-pleasing corporate ‘yes’ person who will work smugly and stringently within a tightly defined list of parameters, and it will be the latter who will represent ‘virtue’ by some of the idiots making senior appointments. The reality is that most of these dull clones aren’t real businesspeople. They just bumble along, spending other people’s money, delivering reasonably good ‘scorecard’ metrics, until they move on. If they had to run their own business and make money, whilst spending their own, they wouldn’t last five minutes. Chris Cheek’s an entrepreneur, so we can be confident, his awards shindig won’t dish out gongs for these mind-numbingly, deadbeat, talentless goons.
No prizes for bullies anymore
This might seem obvious, but don’t be a bully. Some of the biggest bullies in the industry are those who deliberately create a personal brand designed to make it seem they are a ‘people person’, when it is actually quite the opposite. Along the way, they subtly brainwash and more explicitly bully others into being cheerleaders for their brand. When I was in my impressionable 30s, there was a very senior leader in the transport industry who consistently won leadership awards at countless events. They’d appear on stage, telling the audience that their achievement was all down to their team. Across the sector, the headlines were all about this wonderful leader, until I gained insight into them in ‘real life’ and discovered behaviours that were quite the opposite. Then, I dug deeper among those who had worked more closely with them, and I uncovered systematic bullying over several years. Dig deep and true colours emerge.
I uncovered systematic bullying over several years. Dig deep and true colours emerge
Not too many years ago, I was asked by a transport CEO to do a consultancy piece to find out what their team’s perception of the culture and senior leadership approach was. Most of the people I spoke to gave scripted responses about how great the big boss was. Then I went into one of the depots, and the frontline employees were mutinous and more unhappy than any group I had encountered in my entire career. I fed it back to the CEO and promptly got sacked from the job. There was a dispute over whether my company would get paid, and years later, those managers I spoke to voluntarily fessed up that they had lied to me, too scared to tell the truth.
The above examples aren’t just random; I could give countless examples of bullying behaviours at a senior level throughout my career, and they are probably occurring across the transport industry right now. Sometimes, it’s passive-aggressive. Around three years ago, I wrote an article on these pages, which was, in the main, complimentary about a change of ownership within one part of the rail industry. The very senior manager taking ultimate charge within this organisation sent me a letter via our editor. It was scripted, defensive claptrap, with a strong undertone that I should bow down to him, shut up, and not tell anyone he had written to me. This individual had spent a career dictating orders, being told what he wanted to hear, but I wasn’t going to acquiesce or apologise and told him so, even if the chances of me ever getting a dream job in the sector probably died at the point at which I pressed ‘send’ in my email.
Too many bullies have won trophies, but not at this summer’s awards ceremony.
Don’t believe the hype
As if ‘don’t be a bully’ wasn’t obvious enough, that old adage about looking after people on the way up, as you’ll never know when you’ll need them, is timelessly instructive and true. I often giggle at how many people call me when they are in hard times, having been given the bullet for perennial uselessness, pleading for help finding a new role and recreating history as though we’ve shared matey moments, forgetting all the times they didn’t return my call or email. Then, when they do return to employment, after their period of ‘re-charging batteries’, I never hear from them again. Ever.
Self-awareness is vital among leaders, so too is not getting carried away or self-important in the good times. I reach out to those folk who have been grounded and respectful when they have been on the ascendancy. Thankfully, there are plenty of them around, and many have been wrongly fired, tossed aside by their own out-of-touch, cretinous leaders.
The problem of power going to the head of senior leaders is very real in our industry, partly because of the spotlight foisted on the industry. Too many television or radio interviews, stakeholder events, conferences, podcasts and videos have played their part in creating uncontrollable monsters in our sector. Social media has compounded the situation, and some leaders just cannot resist posting for the sake of it. This, along with halo-polishing subordinates and line managers who don’t see it as their role to give feedback, can lead to these arrogant despots never having anyone disagree with them. The adulation foisted upon them eventually makes them believe they are invincible. Very soon, they are using phrases like ‘My people’, ‘My trains’ or ‘My stations’, as though it is genuinely theirs!
It’s the beginning of the fall, and I’ve seen countless situations where not long around the corner, these senior managers believe they are untouchable, unstoppable and can act with impunity. It’s gone to their heads, and, ungoverned, they will invariably bring the company into disrepute or bankrupt it. Such is their lack of self-awareness; they’ll still not see this as a stain on their CV and will be fully expecting to see their name in bright lights at this year’s first-ever ‘Leadership in Transport Awards’. Thankfully, the judges are no mugs, so this big-ticket event will be the truest judge of character in transport. See you on stage when I collect my award. ☺
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of transport technology business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
Leaders – the great and the gruesome
by Passenger Transport on Mar 13, 2026 • 2:43 pm No CommentsThe launch of the ‘Leadership in Passenger Transport Awards’ got me thinking about what makes a good leader – and a bad one
Transport Events Group, the provider of the only industry shindig worth attending (the UK Bus Awards), has launched the inaugural ‘Leadership in Passenger Transport Awards’ for 2026. Led by all-round good guy, Crystal Palace fan and seasoned industry expert Chris Cheek, it aims to shine a light on great leaders across all modes and disciplines – from project managers and marketeers to local authority policy-makers and many more.
I’ve been ruminating on who might be getting the plaudits at Cheeky Boy’s ceremony this summer, but in doing so, I’ve cemented in my mind my views on the recipe for great and gruesome leaders in transport. Here are some of my musings, written with a disclaimer that, for many, I must have been insufferable to work for and the last person to write a leadership manual. I truly wince at having been transport’s ultimate David Brent over the years.
Don’t put on a silly voice
It astonishes me how some senior leaders perceive frontline employees. There are a few who display such condescending behaviour towards them that it’s obvious they think they are in some kind of lower class. The biggest idiots – and I’ve said this previously – are those mindless morons who take selfies with them on buses or trains, referring to them as salt-of-the-earth legends that are what the industry is all about. They use them as performing seals to draw attention to themselves instead. Then, on the rare occasions they actually engage in a meaningful conversation, they are astounded to learn that they can string a coherent sentence together and are often more qualified than themselves, with diverse and interesting backgrounds. Or, on the occasions when they talk back and put their senior manager on the spot with a difficult question or feedback they’d prefer not to hear, the boss sweats, splutters, huffs and puffs pathetically or makes a sharp exit.
Many leaders put on a silly voice, like a children’s TV presenter, when they talk to frontline colleagues. Just act normally, this species, believe it or not, is also known as ‘homo-sapiens’, no different to you.
Bring more than ‘shouty shouty’
Many leaders don’t put in the hard yards. I’m not suggesting they should immerse themselves in the detail all the time, getting in the way of the experts in their team, but leadership is more than just walking round stations and depots trying to act charismatic and making a few soundbites, or mouthing off constantly on social media like a gameshow host. I’m always amazed to find senior managers who claim never to write papers, yet always have their team write them. I’m never impressed by a bus MD who doesn’t devour a map of their network and, in tandem research the market characteristics and demographics across each area within their portfolio, just as I’ve never respected a rail commercial director who might not spend hours understanding fares elasticities, price sensitivities and the impact of socio-economic factors on demand on a regional and local level.
People want to see substance from their leader and for them to demonstrate expertise in a particular subject matter within which they are accountable, or at the very least, a desire to be inquisitive, conduct research and develop cogent and well-informed plans. To do anything less is plain lazy.
Stay clean
It’s not a bad idea for a senior leader to demonstrate role-model behaviours. I titter when I see bosses arrange unnecessary overnight stays across parts of their network (generally fiddling expenses to facilitate their loveless trysts) or, as once happened to me, sit on their phone and ‘butt-dial’ me instead so that I could hear them and their subordinate mistress whispering sweet nothings in their ear. I recall one useless senior leader going utterly apoplectic with me when I dared criticise a junior person in the team who he was particularly close to, only, in later years, for me to find out that they were having an extra-marital affair together. So, it’s best, in order to command respect and be objective in decision making and judgment, to keep shenanigans away from work, just as it tends not to pay getting involved in backhanders or having your hand in the till, in some shape or form. Even if it’s swept under the carpet, staff tend to know, and reputations are tainted forevermore.
It’s not about you
My key judge of character is the extent to which someone shows an interest in another person during a conversation. You’d be surprised how many leaders, either in one-to-ones with their subordinates or in the tours of their network, don’t ask a single question about the individual they are talking to. Others will turn up at a station or depot and not know a single shred of information about the place. Do your research in advance and be ready to have an engaging conversation rather than just talk about yourself and your tedious life.
Don’t be boring
As the years pass, I have been less convinced of the overriding need for a leader to have charisma in spades. I used to think this was the pre-requisite dominant trait, but I’ve seen too many buffoons over the years act with ebullience and energy, though unsupported by genuine action or results. However, I still believe that charisma, to some degree, is important. Self-starting ability and motivation among employees will only go so far; we all need to feel inspired, to be part of a journey, with context and a shared purpose.
Sadly, the transport industry, in recent times, has been fixated on risk aversion, compliance and ‘status quo’. Put an outspoken, maverick entrepreneur capable of engaging teams, alongside some dull, goody-two-shoes, crowd-pleasing corporate ‘yes’ person who will work smugly and stringently within a tightly defined list of parameters, and it will be the latter who will represent ‘virtue’ by some of the idiots making senior appointments. The reality is that most of these dull clones aren’t real businesspeople. They just bumble along, spending other people’s money, delivering reasonably good ‘scorecard’ metrics, until they move on. If they had to run their own business and make money, whilst spending their own, they wouldn’t last five minutes. Chris Cheek’s an entrepreneur, so we can be confident, his awards shindig won’t dish out gongs for these mind-numbingly, deadbeat, talentless goons.
No prizes for bullies anymore
This might seem obvious, but don’t be a bully. Some of the biggest bullies in the industry are those who deliberately create a personal brand designed to make it seem they are a ‘people person’, when it is actually quite the opposite. Along the way, they subtly brainwash and more explicitly bully others into being cheerleaders for their brand. When I was in my impressionable 30s, there was a very senior leader in the transport industry who consistently won leadership awards at countless events. They’d appear on stage, telling the audience that their achievement was all down to their team. Across the sector, the headlines were all about this wonderful leader, until I gained insight into them in ‘real life’ and discovered behaviours that were quite the opposite. Then, I dug deeper among those who had worked more closely with them, and I uncovered systematic bullying over several years. Dig deep and true colours emerge.
Not too many years ago, I was asked by a transport CEO to do a consultancy piece to find out what their team’s perception of the culture and senior leadership approach was. Most of the people I spoke to gave scripted responses about how great the big boss was. Then I went into one of the depots, and the frontline employees were mutinous and more unhappy than any group I had encountered in my entire career. I fed it back to the CEO and promptly got sacked from the job. There was a dispute over whether my company would get paid, and years later, those managers I spoke to voluntarily fessed up that they had lied to me, too scared to tell the truth.
The above examples aren’t just random; I could give countless examples of bullying behaviours at a senior level throughout my career, and they are probably occurring across the transport industry right now. Sometimes, it’s passive-aggressive. Around three years ago, I wrote an article on these pages, which was, in the main, complimentary about a change of ownership within one part of the rail industry. The very senior manager taking ultimate charge within this organisation sent me a letter via our editor. It was scripted, defensive claptrap, with a strong undertone that I should bow down to him, shut up, and not tell anyone he had written to me. This individual had spent a career dictating orders, being told what he wanted to hear, but I wasn’t going to acquiesce or apologise and told him so, even if the chances of me ever getting a dream job in the sector probably died at the point at which I pressed ‘send’ in my email.
Too many bullies have won trophies, but not at this summer’s awards ceremony.
Don’t believe the hype
As if ‘don’t be a bully’ wasn’t obvious enough, that old adage about looking after people on the way up, as you’ll never know when you’ll need them, is timelessly instructive and true. I often giggle at how many people call me when they are in hard times, having been given the bullet for perennial uselessness, pleading for help finding a new role and recreating history as though we’ve shared matey moments, forgetting all the times they didn’t return my call or email. Then, when they do return to employment, after their period of ‘re-charging batteries’, I never hear from them again. Ever.
Self-awareness is vital among leaders, so too is not getting carried away or self-important in the good times. I reach out to those folk who have been grounded and respectful when they have been on the ascendancy. Thankfully, there are plenty of them around, and many have been wrongly fired, tossed aside by their own out-of-touch, cretinous leaders.
The problem of power going to the head of senior leaders is very real in our industry, partly because of the spotlight foisted on the industry. Too many television or radio interviews, stakeholder events, conferences, podcasts and videos have played their part in creating uncontrollable monsters in our sector. Social media has compounded the situation, and some leaders just cannot resist posting for the sake of it. This, along with halo-polishing subordinates and line managers who don’t see it as their role to give feedback, can lead to these arrogant despots never having anyone disagree with them. The adulation foisted upon them eventually makes them believe they are invincible. Very soon, they are using phrases like ‘My people’, ‘My trains’ or ‘My stations’, as though it is genuinely theirs!
It’s the beginning of the fall, and I’ve seen countless situations where not long around the corner, these senior managers believe they are untouchable, unstoppable and can act with impunity. It’s gone to their heads, and, ungoverned, they will invariably bring the company into disrepute or bankrupt it. Such is their lack of self-awareness; they’ll still not see this as a stain on their CV and will be fully expecting to see their name in bright lights at this year’s first-ever ‘Leadership in Transport Awards’. Thankfully, the judges are no mugs, so this big-ticket event will be the truest judge of character in transport. See you on stage when I collect my award. ☺
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of transport technology business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration.
This story appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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