I have been working in New York City in a heavily unionized environment for over six years, and while I always appreciated how much I learned because of it along the way, having transferred to Asia recently, I only understand now how much I really got out of this experience.

When conducting orientation days for new-hires in New York, I was always talking about the challenges that come with working in a five stars & five diamonds property in New York. The high expectations towards service excellence and product quality from your guests, the financial expectations from your management company or ownership, the stressful dynamics that we love so much about New York, and the limitations of working in unionized settings. I used to quote Frank Sinatra in saying ‘if you can make it as a manager at a hotel in New York, you probably can make it anywhere’… and I really meant it. I have worked with so many talented and skilled managers that did not make it New York, lost their passion and enthusiasm, and eventually gave up – they either didn’t try to change anything anymore and tried their best to hold on to the status quo, or resigned their assignment and left without a success story.

What’s the difference between the managers that gave up and the ones that didn’t? I believe that the one’s that didn’t give up, simply had more passion, enthusiasm and energy – and yes, I know it’s not that simple and there is a lot more to it, but that’s for another post.

I know you must wonder how I feel about the union in general having worked in New York City for half a decade? I always said that the union is in theory a great establishment and has done so many good things for so many people, providing employees more rights, better benefits, and higher wages… and it does protect the employees of bad management. And some (a lot actually) managers are indeed bad, but I didn’t consider myself as a bad manager, so why did I had to experience challenges and push back as well?

The challenge comes with the union having to protect all their members and with that every employee, the one that performs with an amazing can-do attitude and the one that doesn’t with no intention to work as a team. It becomes challenging at times to hold your associates accountable to their responsibilities and to make the necessary changes to stay competitive and relevant as a hotel and to evolve. But again, that’s for another post…

So in a nutshell I always said that the union was a good thing, if you had good and strong managers that knew how to lead the team together with the union. But most managers aren’t that good, have been promoted too early and are just not ready yet for their assignment… not in New York anyway.

While this is probably true for leading in any industry, I have learned that to be successful as a manager in an unionized environment you really had to follow these principles:

1. Lead by example

You always have to do what’s right. As a manager all the spotlight is on you, and the more you push towards higher performance and productivity, the more spotlight you’ll have on you (yes, not the 15 minutes of fame you were hoping for, right?). So don’t make any stupid mistakes. However stressful the situation might be and no matter how much pressure you might get (from your bosses or the union), stay calm and smart. Out of control emotions, make smart people look stupid – no room for stupidity here.

2. Lead with integrity

Again, you need to be a sound person all around making sound decisions. You cannot afford (nor should you anyway) to make any decisions based on ulterior motives or favoritism, or simply decisions that you didn’t bother to explain very well. You’ll be very ineffective in a heartbeat. Your team will not trust you anymore, and will question everything you do. Once their trust in you is gone, you might as well go now.

3. Lead with the team

Make decisions together with the team, not by yourself – never ever by yourself. Most of your associates are working at the property a lot longer (because of the union) than you have, and with that know a lot of the operational processes better than you (or think they do). Involve them in the decision-making process, and they’ll take ownership to make it a success (otherwise no matter, if you made the right decision or not, you’ll most likely fail). If you involve the team and you still fail, you’ll then fail as a team… together.

4. Over communicate

Whatever is going on in the hotel or your department, please make sure you communicate over and over with the team. However bad you think it might be, it’s probably not as bad as what your employees will add when filling in the gaps of what they don’t know. However small the issue might be in your eyes, don’t be lazy, and make sure you’ll keep everyone in the loop.

5. Do not take it personal!

Sometimes you’ll think that you do everything to support your employees, help them grow and develop, and then they’ll turn on you because of extra pay or a retro pay claim. Do not take it personal and do not let it change who you are. This is part of the game, so continue to treat everyone the same and the very best you can. And whatever you do, never avoid to talk to any of your talents, because you might feel hurt or treated unfairly, you’ll always have to be the bigger person.

6. Make notes and follow-up

This seems obvious, but let me say it anyway. Make notes of all your meetings, conversations and counseling with your associates. You’ll never know when you have to refer to it later, and you’ll be surprised how differently we can perceive reality and remember it later on.

7. Authority and respect does not come with a title, you’ll have to earn it

Don’t make the mistake to think that just because you’re the boss you can tell people what to do. If they do not respect you, they have the power to make things very difficult for you and probably find tons of reasons why it’s not their job to begin with anyway. You’ll have to learn to influence the people around you to be effective.

8. Believe in the best in people

Working in the union can cause associates to develop a feeling of entitlement, and to put themselves in a victim role. Always believe in the best in people – again, if you treat people for who they could be, they might grow, if you treat them for who you think they are, they might get worse.

9. Confidence is important, but be humble

There is a huge difference between confidence and arrogance, and unfortunately it is  being confused too often. A lot of managers have huge egos in New York, and whatever you might think, arrogance is never justified, no matter how good you are and how much you have accomplished. The most successful leaders I have worked with all have one thing in common, they listen more than they talk, always appreciate feedback, and are humble in their presence.

Now there is a lot more that I learned during my time in New York, but again more to come. Working in Asia now with different settings, unionized or not, it cannot be compared to New York, I continue to follow the same principles as I did in New York, it just feels right to lead your teams the right way with integrity. I believe that to survive and become successful as a manager in New York, you’ll have to become the best leader that you can be.

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