I left New York over a year ago, and it’s a good time to revisit some of my memories of how it was working in the city and how I now feel about the challenges and opportunities that come with it.

I worked in New York from 2007 to 2008 as floor supervisor and with that as a member of the union, and again from 2009 to 2015 as  housekeeping manager, and most recently as director of housekeeping with a unionized team of almost 200 employees.

So with over six years experience in a heavily unionized environment most would be surprised for me not blaming the union for hotels not performing up to standard. And yes, it’s been over a year now since I left New York and I probably forgot some of the more painful and disheartening experiences. This is how our memory works, right? We tend to remember mostly the positive.

But I do know that I have witnessed plenty of not so pretty arguments and have seen people at their worst behavior, but I have learned as well what’s right and wrong, and I did learn that the union teaches you to be a better manager and leader. If you want to make it as a manager in New York, you have to learn how to lead your team, how to get your employees to follow you because they want to believe in you, what you stand for and trying to accomplish, and not because of your title. In a unionized environment, I learned that titles don’t stand for much, and respect needs to be earned. At the end of the day it’s a people’s business, and if you lead with respect and integrity, care about your people, their dreams and goals, they will follow your dreams and goals in return.

I believe that the union is in theory a great thing. It gives the employee rights and benefits, and protects them of bad management. Now we know that in reality things tend to be somewhat different. Most managers aren’t that bad, and neither are the union or its members. You will find people on both sides not doing what they are supposed to do, managers who never learned how to lead their teams, and some union members who try to cut corners and get by with investing the least amount of efforts possible because they have lost their trust and confidence in the leadership of the property.

In most establishments the union created an environment of entitlement with employees as well as managers having lost their passion along the way blaming each other for who they became. Why? Well, it is so much easier and comfortable to play the victim role and blame others – and that goes for both sides… both blaming each other. Taking responsibility is more painful and you would be on your own.

I also believe that there always needs to be a balance to things, and it doesn’t matter if you are working in unionized settings or not, you will always find another set of challenges and opportunities.

Now having worked in Thailand for the past year with an unemployment rate below one percent, hoteliers have another challenge to deal with. While you can always attract energetic and passionate graduates to join your team, turnover is a lot higher and job hopping is the norm as people can always get another job somewhere else within a heartbeat. Because of the higher turnover employees are sometimes less experienced and skilled than in a unionized environment. Where your leadership efforts in New York need to be focused a lot on motivation and guidance to do what your employees know they should do and how to, in Bangkok you’ll need to focus more on training the essentials of customer service and do your best in growing your employees that they believe in you not just offering them a job, but a career.

I am sure that many managers in New York reading this,  are probably wondering, if I indeed forgot all the draining union negotiations that I can write this… but how many managers do really care enough to step out of their comfort zone and try to coach their employees that are perceived to be more difficult on how to improve and reach their potential  – I know that most do not – it is simple easier to blame other or the union. I strongly believe that most people want to do a good job, and would want to have a feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day.

What a refreshing thought to take responsibility for our actions and own opportunities without trying to shift blame or pass the buck – that’s the kind of leader I want to work for.

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