Five steps to align strategies and motivations

1. Diagnose the type of change required

Before implementing any initiative, you must determine whether your hotel needs to focus on exploration (innovation and risk-taking) or exploitation (optimising existing processes). Both approaches are essential, but applying them indiscriminately can create chaos.

One example I have observed frequently is when a digital transformation is driven across the entire hotel without considering that some departments, such as front desk or reservations, may benefit more from optimising their current processes than from total disruption. Using a decision tree can help you distinguish which areas need radical change and which require incremental adjustments.

According to a McKinsey report, projects that align their strategic objectives with the specific capabilities of each department achieve a 30% higher success rate.

2. Identify your team’s motivational styles

Every employee approaches change differently. Some are visionaries who embrace new developments enthusiastically (Play to Win), while others prefer to avoid risk and hold on to what they know (Play Not to Lose). Balancers, meanwhile, bring valuable equilibrium.

To map these styles, observe how people react to complex tasks or unexpected situations. Do they tend to propose bold solutions, or do they prefer to analyse matters thoroughly before acting? Conduct internal surveys or feedback sessions to identify behavioural patterns.

A Harvard Business Review study notes that organisations that take their teams’ motivational styles into account experience a 25% increase in the effectiveness of their change initiatives.

3. Assign projects according to motivational styles

With a clear diagnosis of the change and a motivation map, you can assign tasks strategically. Play to Win employees will excel in exploratory projects, such as developing new guest experiences. Play Not to Lose employees are ideal for critical projects that require precision, such as ensuring regulatory compliance. Balancers, meanwhile, can lead initiatives that require a balance between innovation and stability.

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This approach not only increases productivity, but also reduces the stress associated with change. According to Gallup, teams working in roles aligned with their strengths show 29% higher engagement.

4. Adapt the message to the motivational style

Change needs to be communicated in a way that inspires. But here is the key: the same message does not work for everyone.

• • • For Play to Win employees, focus communication on opportunities: “With this initiative, we will be pioneers in offering personalised services that will set us apart in the market.”
    • For those who are Play Not to Lose, emphasise security: “If we do not make these changes, we risk falling behind our competitors and undermining our guests’ trust.”
    • For Balancers, combine both perspectives: “This project will allow us to innovate while maintaining the operational excellence that has always defined us.”

One case I remember clearly involved a housekeeping team that initially resisted the digitalisation of its processes. Reframing the message to emphasise how technology would enable them to save time and reduce errors transformed resistance into enthusiasm.

5. Foster a paradox mindset

Hospitality is full of opposing tensions: we need to innovate without compromising quality; we want to reduce costs without losing the human touch. Teaching teams to embrace these contradictions—instead of fearing them—is essential.

Design projects that incorporate seemingly opposing objectives. For example, at a hotel I managed, we balanced the need to implement sustainable practices with the pressure to keep costs low. We achieved this by involving the team in open discussions about these tensions and highlighting small wins on both fronts.

A report by MIT Sloan Management Review highlights that organisations that embrace a paradox mindset are 70% more likely to adapt successfully to market changes.