A Real Story of Silent Toxicity in Hospitality
Some of the most damaging conflicts in a hotel do not come from external crises, but from internal dynamics nobody is willing to challenge. For months, our team worked alongside a restaurant manager whose outward normality concealed the source of escalating tension, manipulation and operational mistakes. The issue was not only a lack of technical competence, but an ability to divide colleagues, distort events and blame others for personal failures. This is the story of that experience—and what our team learned from it. In hospitality, leadership cannot be improvised, and toxic behaviour eventually comes to light.
For a time, we had a restaurant manager at the hotel who did not know how to lead, had no desire to learn and, on top of that, generated more bluster than service. That period was an exercise in resilience, observation and, in many cases, injustice for the entire team. But as so often happens in Hospitality —and in life— time reveals what fear and appearances conceal.
That restaurant manager did not speak English. He knew neither the cuisine he served nor the customs of the country. His relationship with wine was that of someone who knew the names of a couple of labels through repetition, not tasting or judgement. He could not tell the difference between cannelloni and lasagne —and yet he voiced his opinions with confidence—. He did not know how to use IT systems. He organised neither rotas, orders nor inventories. He delegated these responsibilities to waiters who, in good faith, managed to keep things running despite his neither understanding nor attempting to understand them.
You have reached your free article limit
Subscribe to continue reading without limits, or unlock this article individually when available.