Hotel Managers Without Leadership Skills: What to Do

When Hotel Managers Lack Leadership Skills: What to Do

Albert BarraSeptember 16, 2018 · 3 min read

THE IDEA

The term “leader” is often misused, especially when a job title is mistaken for genuine leadership. A lack of leadership can undermine team credibility, confidence and motivation. Technical and operational skills matter, but leadership is demonstrated every day. Look for the true leaders in your hotel team: the people who inspire, motivate and earn others’ trust.

The term “leader” is an expression that has been overused. It is applied to almost anyone who stands out even slightly in something, and here it at least starts from a positive point of reference on the part of the person to whom the label is applied. However, all too often the term simply comes with the position, with no merit beyond the appointment itself. Unfortunately, I have seen Directors with not the slightest hint of the Leadership their role requires. Where does this lead? To a lack of credibility among the team, insecurity, uncertainty and mistrust—in short, the worst possible breeding ground for a business that depends heavily on the motivation and enthusiasm of the people who deliver the service.

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And acknowledging a lack of leadership should not be a cause for shame either. But failing to accept it leads us to adopt attitudes that are even more damaging to our business performance. Someone may have great technical and operational skills without being a leader. There is nothing wrong with that either. Worse still is having neither one nor the other—and there are people like that too :) Therefore, let us assume that the technical and operational skills are there; the first step must then be to accept and acknowledge that something is missing. Josep Ramoneda says that “leadership discourse is the justification for the high incomes of many executives”, as we are seeing at present. It is true that sometimes the label influences the role, as in this case. On more than one occasion, someone is labelled a leader simply because they have been appointed as such, without actually being one. There are no leaders by appointment; leadership is demonstrated day by day, earning one’s stripes. You, as a hotel owner or manager, may not feel like a leader and, if you are one, you must demonstrate it by motivating and inspiring your employees. What is more, you may very well have the true leader among your employees: the person who motivates their colleagues and guides each of them in their daily work. In times of stagnation, this is vitally important.

Look within your team for the person who is a leader without holding that title, without having a position or a sign on their door saying so. That is the true leader: someone who is one naturally, who sees it as something normal, as part of who they are. Do not be jealous of that person. Simply use their abilities to convey to your team what you would not do as well as that person. A leader is not a boss. A boss is someone I have to obey; a leader is someone I want to follow and listen to, someone who inspires me. The employee’s willingness is part of the concept of leadership. If I am willing to follow someone, it is a leader; if I am obliged to do so, it is a boss. Look around you and find the leaders in your team—it is easy, you only have to follow your employees.

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