Changing the World, One Visit at a Time

Have you ever had this conversation about service during your business trips?

YOU: I demand to see your manager!

DESK CLERK: Certainly. May I say why?

YOU: It’s the service here. The way this hotel is run.

DESK CLERK: Our apologies. Perhaps…

YOU: I can’t believe how fantastic it all is. I’d like to learn more about her leadership techniques!

Okay; we know that’s probably never happened. But it needs to happen now: our podcast guest Shruti Buckley, SVP of Hampton Inn by Hilton and Spark by Hilton, says the hospitality industry creates effective, cutting-edge leadership models you can benefit from.

At Your Core: Connecting People

Gone is the Brainiac leader with the answer to every question, the solution to every problem. To make sound decisions, leaders fundamentally need teams who collectively have the knowledge no single human brain can contain. Those teams only function well when people connect.

Hospitality — hotels in particular — create human connections by their very nature. Hotel guests travel from near and far: other cities, states, and nations. Hotel staff frequently hail from other lands, as well. Yet, from chatting with your housekeeper to mingling at a conference, people seamlessly interact with that boundless diversity of culture, religion, and geography. Divides dissolve. People connect.

When leaders in other industries cultivate that same ability to bridge gaps and connect people, it creates a powerful team with diverse perspectives that serves a leader astonishingly well.

The Power of Opportunity

In prior articles, we’ve shown the record-high levels of disengagement in the workplace. How can you turn those around?

At Hilton, they ensure opportunity knocks for as many people as possible. Hilton consciously creates pathways to success, forging various programs and initiatives to help people rise through the ranks. By showing such loyalty to their staff, staff are loyal — and engaged — in return.

At your organization, opportunity may take different forms. It can be as simple as pledging to promote from within so people envision a growing future with you.

Turn and Face the Change

Humans crave stability. Few people realize the phrase “May you live in interesting times” emerged as a curse. Transform it into a blessing.

The last half-decade demonstrated that change is permanent and accelerating by the moment. Resilience is absolutely critical in this world of constant flux. Indeed, resilience morphed: formerly, it simply meant surviving a situation; today, leaders must survive and thrive through change!

Hotels revealed remarkable resilience through the COVID pandemic. Hilton, like the rest of the industry, endured deep drops in revenue as travel dramatically declined. They responded not with hand-wringing, but with innovation. They integrated new technology, developed strategies to grow guest satisfaction, and even brainstormed on maintaining owner revenue during economic downturns.

The hospitality industry offers clear lessons on nurturing better leadership. It’s proven: in our podcast with Steve Robinson, we learned how Chick-fil-A’s remarkable restaurant service formed when the founder replicated the superior service he experienced at a luxury hotel. So the next time you travel, look around you for great leadership insights. You’ll be able to transform the hotel’s best guest experience into your own great team service.

What’s Your Story?

What leadership lessons have you learned working in hospitality? Or, did you learn a leadership lesson during an interaction with the hospitality industry? Share with us in the comments!

This article was adapted by Dan Mushalko from our podcast episode Change, Risk, & Diversity: The Pillars of Modern Leadership.

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