In reality the success of your hotel depends on both the leadership of the owner and the commitment of the staff and particularly the interaction between them. How do you ensure that everyone works together as a team and shares the same vision?
What Is Your Leadership Style?
We all understand that whatever goes on in an organisation is influenced greatly by the actions of those at the top. If those in charge are not definite about their own roles and do not organise their own activities efficiently and effectively, then it is unlikely that the rest of the team will be effective either. I have experience of being called to help owners generate extra sales only to find them fully committed in the kitchen. How can you drive a business forward if you are exhausted after 60 hours a week cooking? You have to be organised for success.
I assume that you are committed. I also assume that if there is more than one owner, you are both, or all, committed
and united. What you need is for every one of your team to be equally committed to the success of your hotel. Unfortunately this is rarely the case.
It is often expected that the business owner or manager alone is responsible for the success of the business. This assumption leads you to take on every task yourself and fail to give responsibility to your staff. Very often the outcome of this for you is a frenetic lifestyle where you never get away from the business. For your employees it is a feeling of disempowerment because they have no clear responsibilities. You then begin to question their commitment and from then on it is a downward spiral with everyone blaming each other and the customer becoming the ultimate loser.
Effective Leadership
There is a lot of literature on leadership and it is certainly not my intention to spend too much time on it here. However there are some vital differences between leadership and management that are worth highlighting. Edgar Schein summarises the difference as, ‘Leaders create and change cultures, while managers and administrators live within them,’ which seems a
good enough description. Perhaps it is the difference between being ruled by the heart instead of the head.
The heart involves vision, motivation, support, trust and fun, whereas the head involves issues of goal setting, planning, discipline and procedures. Of course you need both, but you need to recognise when it is appropriate to be a manager and when to be a leader. Or maybe you can separate the roles amongst different people in your hotel?
There is some element of agreement amongst all researchers that the four main characteristics of leaders are:
- A vision of the future.
- The ability to communicate that vision.
- An entrepreneurial spirit.
- A constant quest for excellence by continuous improvement.
I mentioned Richard Branson of Virgin earlier and these characteristics would all seem to apply. He certainly has a vision which he seems very able to communicate and, as he says, ‘There is always a market for the best; the bottom line will sort itself out.’
Leaders create a vision of the future and have a desire to change the way things are. They encourage others to come up with new ideas and new ways of approaching their job and are prepared to take risks. Above all, leaders know that they cannot do it all themselves, so they encourage collaboration, build teams and empower others. They always display integrity (consistency between speech and action) since they know their own values and always act in a manner consistent with them. Leaders are always
aware of the need to maintain morale, particularly when pursuing the vision is frustrating, so they always celebrate others’ achievements and give genuine praise whenever they have the opportunity.
As I said, leadership is different to management, but it can still be learned. There are plenty of organisations that offer helpful training and coaching to help you develop your own leadership skills. We are all born with some gift of leadership and it can be developed if you listen carefully to yourself, understand who you are and stay true to yourself. To be a really effective leader you also need to learn how and when to be a follower. There are circumstances when it is appropriate for you to use others’ skills for the long-term realisation of your vision.
This vulnerability will make you appear more human and will encourage others to follow your example.