When you begin your career in hospitality and tourism, providing excellent customer service and taking initiative is necessary. If you want to become a manager and ensure long-term career success, you will also want to make time to nurture your leadership skills.
An energetic and outgoing personality will contribute to your leadership potential, but effective leaders also work hard to develop and maintain the skills that foster exceptional teamwork and meet business goals.
Whether you run a prestigious hotel, a small and cozy B&B, or a sustainable tourism organization, leadership skills will connect you to future success. Keep reading to learn how to become an effective leader.
Creativity and Adaptability
Adaptive leaders not only act quickly day-to-day, but they also respond creatively to changes in human resources, marketing strategies, or purchasing needs. Throughout your hospitality career, you will see trends come and go, but you will also have many unique workdays.
Travel can bring you face to face with the unexpected, whether you’re the host or the visitor. This means the plans you make as a manager must be adaptable and you must be ready to make creative adjustments when necessary.
Use your passion and creativity to devise contingency plans and make sure staff are kept up to date. This ensures your team maintains momentum because they have confidence you will provide them with resources and support even when unpredictable things happen. Being adaptable might also mean you are willing to step in and take on another role to help your staff when necessary.
Learn Team Skills from Hospitality Management Courses
Effective leaders know how to manage their teams, but more importantly, they understand that they are part of the team. They ask how will the goals of our business benefit everyone? A leader who can frame their management strategies around this question will create a community where staff members feel a sense of belonging and every team member shares in the joy of achievements.
Futhermore, working with other people is an essential skill at any point in your career, starting with hospitality management courses. Throughout your training, you will have hands-on experience, which prepares you to give constructive feedback, maintain a positive attitude, and inspire collaboration. Take these skills to a supervisory role, and your team will recognize and appreciate your ability to lead by inclusion.
Be Present and Listen
With the same initiative you take to earn a hospitality management diploma, you must strive to earn your team’s trust. Leaders build trust by showing up for employees and guests and making time for individual interactions from casual exchanges to delivering practical information. Rather than checking on employees, you can check in with employees. This is also a strategy that will allow you to get valuable feedback.
Your staff likely has insights about their work and ways to improve the business. A good leader recognizes good ideas and is open to hearing from members of the team as well as clients. Fostering genuine relationships with the team will help you communicate your goals and inspire your team to follow your lead.
Ready to make an investment in your future?