I have now worked in five different hotels over the past decade and all of them had one thing in common. People would tell me about all the great things that they used to do or all the great ideas that they have had in the past, but that just disappeared or never even happened.
Why is that? We know that a lot of people have great ideas all the time, know what’s wrong and what needs improvement, so why is it that only few succeed?
Yes, of course it’s all about execution and follow-up. But that’s where most people and companies struggle. Hospitality is not as simple as setting expectations and goals and then being surprised and frustrated when things don’t go as planned. We need to inspect what we expect, and drive execution with persistent and stubborn follow-up.
This requires a lot of energy, passion and enthusiasm on our end, and the ability to cut through all the noise and focus on what matters most.
Too many times great programs or initiatives are already in place and then managers miss or don’t care enough to follow up on them and encourage their teams to stay sharp, and so things discontinue and our great ideas pass away. If we don’t follow up on programs and projects we communicate a very clear message that it really doesn’t matter as much and that we don’t care.
Our responsibility as leaders is to encourage and support our teams to follow through on their great ideas, hold them accountable to their projections and follow up on it.
So please don’t let any more of those great ideas die! Trust me it takes a lot more efforts to bring them back to life and to gain the confidence of your teams again that they and their ideas can make a difference.
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You are absolutely right! motivation of our teams is key to the continuing success of our properties. but how do you keep yourself as a manager engaged and continue to be a motivator? thank you, and congratulations on your new endeavor.
Carmen, thank you for your comment. I believe that as leaders it is our responsibility to stay motivated and engaged no matter what. In our role we owe it to our teams to be the best we can be, and to not let ourselves down. I get my motivation from being able to help my teams grow and reach their potential.
Thank you for your quick reply. Where do you find your inspiration after a few years with the same team. Sometimes I struggle with finding new ideas to keep the engaged.
You’re right! It’s not always easy. I always use guest feedback either from surveys or tripadvisor to keep my teams thinking about how to improve. Another effective way is to have them share experiences when they come back from vacation and staying at other hotels. Experiencing great service yourself can be very inspiring as you understand the impact it has on you
Keep your post coming, they are really helpful Alexander.