Page 129 - Hospitality Horizon - February-March 2021
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GUEST COLUMN
over the past months, I have seen a complete surrounded by many such champions, I am certain we
turnaround in performance from an associate have them everywhere. We just must look harder. But we
once he or she was given the opportunity to also need to adjust our lens on how we look for talent. It is
get their worries out in the open! not just a clear set of rules that define leadership and a
person’s capability to lead.
NEW LEADERS I made myself a little list of attributes I will look for in
We all gained a lot of experience and learned a potential future leaders besides drive, enthusiasm and
lot in the past year. We really went further than willingness to learn. We should ensure that we look for
the horizon on many occasions to places and colleagues who display the following characteristics:
situations we thought we could not handle – yet Shares Information: They must be great
we did! It is in the challenge of uncertainty communicators! They must be able to convey the
where leaders are born. Where character is message and while most people are good in managing
forged. Where tough decisions must be made. upwards, the skill to communicate downwards is even
And here is where we found colleagues that more important to drive the message.
performed superbly well during times of Willingness to Adjust Leadership Style: Many leaders
uncertainty, who rose to the occasion and took are set in their ways and expect the people around them
charge and showed leadership without being to adjust to them. Let’s face it, not everyone likes to be
told to do so. While I am blessed to be managed the way we lead them, and our leadership style
may even prevent others from really being able to
perform. Remember, personalities are different, and a
“THE MENTORS MUST CONVEY leader’s style must be flexible enough to adjust to his or
THEIR EXPERIENCE ABOVE AND her team to get the best out of them. They must also be
BEYOND THE USUAL BUSINESS tough enough to remove disruptors from a team, no
MODELS AND PREPARE FUTURE matter how good they are in their specific profession!
LEADERS FOR SITUATIONS Embraces Empowerment: I know this has been around
THAT ARE EXPONENTIALLY for some time, and many colleagues do not like this word
for various reasons. Who am I to give power to you? But if
INTERRUPTIVE TO THE BUSINESS the experiences of the past nine months have taught me
FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD.” anything, it is the fact that in certain cultures, leaders
have great difficulties in letting go and letting teams do
their jobs. A lot of time is wasted in micromanaging an
outcome that would have been achieved anyway.
Empower through delegation! And stop wasting time.
Shows Empathy: A lot has been said about empathy
and the fact that we should walk in the shoes of the
other person before judging them. And rightly so.
During difficult times this is more important than ever,
and I still feel it needs to be raised and people still need
to be reminded.
Enables and Removes Obstacles: As a leader, I always
feel that my biggest responsibility is to make the job
of those working with me easier; to remove obstacles
and to ensure I am enabling them to perform better. But
the flip side is that this can be misinterpreted. Some
leaders reporting to you will stop leading and will
always come to you to look for a solution. It is a fine line
and we must still be the enablers who remove obstacles,
but at the same time also tell those colleagues around us
that they are accountable and must present or offer
solutions to a problem.
Stay safe! Love and support each other!
The author is Area VP, West India, Hyatt Hotels &
GM, Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences
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