EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

by Alan Cutler FIH FCMI

When I asked the 25 leaders I interviewed for The 2006 Hospitality Leadership Excellence Survey what they felt were the main characteristics of effective leadership, the one most often mentioned was vision.  As Charles Handy said,  

“A leader shapes and shares the vision, which gives point to the work of others”.

A leader’s vision is the direction and destination he envisages the team moving to.  A person holding a leadership position without a clear vision, or the ability to communicate one effectively, will be leading the team towards an uncertain future.  A leader’s vision, at team leader, organisational, or strategic levels must be one of his principal roles, as it sets a positive theme for the future. 

It is also the leader’s responsibility, however, to provide the team with the means to achieve the vision.  If the vision is to be realised, the team leader’s staff must be aware of what they have to achieve as stepping stones along the journey.  Just as a journey is achieved by taking steps, passing milestones, and achieving deadlines, so realising a vision is achieved by completing a number of tasks along the way.  It is, thus, the leader’s crucial responsibility to define the tasks to his or her team.  The vision, and the tasks required to achieve it, may well have been conceived by the leader but they must not remain his sole property.  Unless the team and its individual members sign up for, and embrace, the leader’s vision, there is no hope that it will be achieved.  Moreover, individuals will not input the necessary energy, enthusiasm and hard work into achieving the vision unless they see benefits for the organisation and, by extension, themselves.   It can only be by the team leader understanding the motivational stimuli of each individual team member that he can define the task in a way that will appeal to the self interest of each member.  The leader should, therefore, carefully consider how the task is to be defined and should focus, in particular, on the individual and team benefits associated with its successful completion.  That way, team members will be prepared to expend their energy, enthusiasm and ability to contribute to the completion of the task. 

In defining and selecting tasks for individual team members, the leader should be aware of the existing knowledge, abilities and skills of the person in order to match an appropriate task to existing abilities.  It is important that the task should not be seen as daunting or impossible to achieve.  However, it is equally important also that team members are given the opportunity to develop and extend their existing abilities by taking on new tasks and roles that may extend their current skill-set and, thus, develop them as individuals and, by extension, useful members of the team.    It is important also that individual team members appreciate the impact and value of their tasks and their contribution to the team as a whole and therefore, the leader’s vision.

If the motivational and team building benefits of achieving a task successfully are to be realised it is obviously also important for individuals and the team to know when the task has been successfully completed.  This begs the question ‘how will we know when we have successfully completed the task?’  If that question cannot be answered it may be that the task, itself, had not been communicated clearly enough.  It could be that the leader, himself, did not fully understand what was to be achieved which could be as a result of confusion at a higher leadership level.  The problem could also involve a lack of clarity as to when the task has actually been completed.  Whatever the reason, if the individual and team building benefits are to be realised, it is important that achievement of the task is fully understood by all.  Only then, can both the individuals and team celebrate its successful completion.  However, the leader defines the task, be it using terms such as objectives, aims, purposes or targets, or goals, the task should be defined clearly in terms of resources required, time scale allocated, and benefits if individuals and teams are to enthusiastically embrace it.  It is important also that the leader explains not only what is required but also why it is important that the task is achieved.  The purpose should be firmly based on the benefits for the organisation, the team, and its individual members.

BRIEFING

Briefing a team, including defining and allocating tasks, is one of the most important roles of a team leader, the foundation of which requires effective communications – perhaps the most important leadership role, and the one that is practised so badly.  In terms of task allocation, effective communications would ensure that every team member knows exactly what his job is, and has clearly defined targets and performance standards that are applied and understood.  Effective briefing will ensure that every team member knows exactly what is expected of him and how, by successfully achieving individual tasks, it will contribute to the success of the team as a whole.  The team will not expect its leader to be a great orator but it will expect him, indeed have a right to expect him, to communicate in a clear, concise and convincing way. 

“Skill in the art of communication is crucial to a leader’s success.  He can accomplish nothing unless he can communicate effectively”.

Norman Allen

In terms of team briefing, it is important that the leader spends sufficient time in preparing his presentation, ensuring there is a logical structure to it and is supported by appropriate visual aids and venue facilities.  He should use words that individual team members will understand, avoiding the use of unnecessarily complicated words, phrases or technical jargon.  He should be enthusiastic in conveying his message and certain that the message is understood by each team member. 

Above all, the leader should seek to gain agreement from members as to the individual and team benefits of embracing the message he is seeking to impart.  This can be most effectively achieved by the leader’s personal enthusiasm for it.  Team briefings should be an ideal opportunity to define and gain acceptance for the task; develop team spirit by stressing the rewards associated with achieving the task; and also meeting individual needs by giving personal attention to each member of the team attending the meeting.  It is important that the leader ensures that every team member has the opportunity to contribute to the briefing and does not feel as though their individual views and concerns have not been listened to.  A useful analogy is that of a chain where its strength is determined by each individual link.  Should one link be weak then the whole chain, or team, is weakened and cannot achieve the task set it. 

In the hospitality industry, with often three meal deadlines to meet every day, and with the associated demands on time and resources to achieve those tasks, team briefing can often be a leadership function that is ignored as a consequence of time pressures.  However, operational tasks, such as the provision of a meal in a dining room, requires a close understanding by each member of each team (dining room, reception, kitchen)  of exactly what is required of them and how each individual, and each team, relies heavily on others if the customer is to receive the quality of product and service they expect.  Time spent in team briefing will be time well spent. 

When briefing a team, the leader will sometimes notice that one or more individual team members may, for whatever reason, not be participating in, or absorbing, the information being discussed.  The leader must be conscious of this and should take every opportunity to involve each team member.  However, it may be that his best efforts fail to involve everybody.  That being the case, he should ensure that opportunities exist for individual briefings.  It is likely that such a person will respond positively in the knowledge that his leader has taken the time and effort to ensure that he benefits from individual attention. 

MOTIVATING

So the leader has defined the task and has ensured that opportunities exist to brief the team on the task, and their collective and individual responsibilities in achieving it.  However, unless they are motivated towards achieving the task it is unlikely that it will be successfully achieved. 

“Certainly a leader needs a clear vision of the organisation and where it is going, but a vision is of little value unless it is shared in a way so as to generate enthusiasm and commitment”.

Claude Taylor

It is important, therefore, that a leader understands the motivational stimuli for each individual member of the team.  It is often the case that people who hold a leadership position assume that the principal motivating factor for their staff is money.  The fact is that there are a multitude of motivational factors, money being merely one of them.  Others include opportunities for development; a sense of achievement; having their status recognised; being part of a successful team; and advancement within their job or careers. 

A lot of work was undertaken in the late 1950’s and 1960’s, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, M^cGregor’s X/Y Theory, and Herzberg’s Hygiene Theories.  Without going into these theories in great detail, a common factor was that individuals are rarely motivated by financial gain in isolation.  More recent research has identified that the relationship between leader and follower can have a very significant impact on morale and motivation of staff.  Someone once said, “People don’t leave their jobs, they leave their managers”.   It is, therefore, crucially important that the leader appreciates his role in motivating individuals and, therefore, the team. 

In addition to his Hygiene Factors, Herzberg also promoted a two-factor theory.  In it, he suggested that what motivates or satisfies people at work is not the opposite to what demotivates or dissatisfies them.  He proposed there are two separate sets of factors at work and listed five factors which he considered to be staff motivators: achievement; recognition; job interest; responsibility; and advancement.  Whilst he did not mention leadership in this context it is obvious that, considering the five motivators he cites, the leader has a major influence in the realisation of all five factors. 

Achievement.   When people are given a task to undertake they feel a great sense of achievement when it comes to a successful conclusion.  Be it successfully booking a guest into a hotel, producing a beautifully cooked and presented dish, or coming through a frantic meal period without mishap and achieving customer satisfaction, the hospitality worker will be motivated by a job well done.  It is the leader’s role to ensure that his staff are given the opportunity and the resources to achieve the task satisfactorily.   And, of course, individual jobs well done contribute to high team morale and hence exceptional customer satisfaction.  Many of the leaders I interviewed for The 2006 Hospitality Leadership Excellence Survey made the point that ‘happy staff mean happy customers mean good business’.  It is the leader’s role to facilitate this process. 

However, sometimes the staff member may not know that the job has been achieved satisfactorily.  Perhaps the results have been received at the leader’s level, rather than at the team or individual level.  In that case, it is the firm responsibility of the leader to give both the group and the individual positive feedback regarding the completed task.  In my personal experience in the hospitality industry, far too often leaders do not recognise the powerful motivational impact of celebrating success. 

Recognition.     The full motivational benefits of staff achieving the task will only, however, be enjoyed if the individuals or the team receive due recognition for their efforts.  If the leader fails to communicate the positive outcome of a task or retains the glory for himself, not only will he as the team leader fail to realise its benefits but, if found out, his position will be seriously compromised by reduced morale and motivation.  A wise leader will seek to minimise his own influence on the team’s success by stressing the contributions made by individual team members, or the team as a whole. 

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit”.

Harry S Truman

Wise leaders will also find ways of formally recognising individual and team success.  If opportunities do not exist for official citations, a simple certificate produced on the leader’s PC and passed out under his name can have a powerful motivational influence.

Within a team, not all individuals can contribute to the team’s success in equal measure.  That being the case, the leader must ensure that those who, for no fault of their own, have been able to contribute to a lesser extent still get recognition for their contribution.  In doing so, the leader’s intention to promote an inclusive team will often be recognised by the more influential and powerful team members and will, thus, contribute to bonding within the team. 

Job Interest.  It is a simple fact that, if individuals gain job satisfaction from undertaking their duties, they will be more highly motivated than otherwise.  Equally, individual’s job satisfaction contributes to the motivation and success of the team as a whole.  A team that has demotivated individuals can never be fully effective.  Indeed, demotivated individuals not only fail to perform their own duties efficiently, they also are likely to have a negative impact on others’ motivation and, hence, to that of the team as a whole.  The leader is in a unique position to take every effort to ensure that his staff has the opportunity to gain maximum job satisfaction.  Only the leader can make the necessary changes to the organisation and function of the workplace.  I also, personally, believe that the leader should have the courage and confidence to be prepared to say goodbye to members of staff who, after being given every opportunity to contribute to the team motivation and success, are not prepared to play their part in allowing the team to achieve its task.  Why should other individual team members be hindered in gaining recognition through achievement by a fellow team member who is not prepared to contribute?

Advancement.   Some people are happy with the level of responsibility they  have in their current roles, whilst others wish to stretch themselves by seeking advancement to more senior roles within the team or the organisation.  A leader, obviously, can be very influential within the promotion process.  It is important, therefore, that he continually assesses and evaluates those team members who have the desire and ability for advancement.   Poor leaders often allow team members to be, as somebody once described, “promoted to their level of incompetence”.  The impact on team morale, and hence achievement of the task, can be heavily affected by an inappropriate promotion within it.  Promotion, as with any other reward system, must also be managed transparently and without any suggestion of favouritism. 

Responsibility.   The fifth and final Herzberg motivator is responsibility – being given the responsibility and opportunity to make decisions affecting your work place without having to make recourse to your leader.  Enlightened leaders understand that most people naturally want to develop themselves and, given the appropriate support and encouragement, will grasp the opportunity to take on more responsibility.  Rather than creating an environment in which the leader dominates and personally controls all activities, the best results are often achieved by allowing people to take decisions themselves.  Why should the leader believe that he knows better how to service a hotel room than those who do it every day?  He should concentrate on defining the overall task and performance standards and then allow the front line staff to find the best way of achieving it. 

“Never tell people how to do things.  Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity”.

George Patton

Two powerful motivational tools in this respect are delegation and empowerment.  Delegation is, in effect, saying “This job would normally be mine, as the leader, but I’m asking you to do it on my behalf”.   What the leader is doing is demonstrating the trust he has in the individual.  Yet, if delegation is a powerful motivational tool in the leader’s armoury, then empowerment can be even more motivational.  When a leader empowers an individual he allows him greater decision making responsibilities.   There are few more motivational influences on a team member than for the leader to demonstrate the trust he has by allowing him to take increasing responsibility over how he performs his job.

“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and let him know you trust him”.

Booker T Washington

Indeed, delegation and empowerment can also be applied at the team level, as well as at the individual level, with the very same positive effects.  

SETTING AN EXAMPLE

One of the most important and effective qualities leaders can display is consistently and visibly to link the values they stand for with their every day actions – setting an example.  Leadership is obviously about taking the lead: being the figurehead for other team members to follow.  The behaviour and attitude that members adopt will have a direct relationship with those of their leader.  Consistency and visibility are the keys.  People respect and follow leaders whose behaviour mirrors their words, they have no respect for leaders who say one thing and do another.  “Do as I say, not as I do” is simply not good enough.  Leaders should, therefore, look into the mirror and consider what they see.  Example is a reflection of the beliefs and values of the individual and it is important to clarify these issues in oneself.  A good starting point would be to ask: do I lead in such a way that I would willingly follow myself?  Leaders can be sure of one thing: they may not be continually assessing their performance as a leader, but their followers certainly will be!  Actions, very often, speak louder than words in this respect. 

“I am convinced that people are convinced by what leaders do, not what they say”.

Sir Anthony Clearer

It is likely to be a requirement of the hospitality team leader that he undertakes a certain amount of work in, for example, the hotel restaurant or reception area.  How much front-line work he chooses to do is likely to be flexible according to his priorities.  There will, of course, be times when he will have to undertake certain essential administrative tasks but they should be prioritised against the benefits of actually working alongside his staff and contributing to the task.  Far too often, the leader chooses the easier option of staying in his office rather than working in the, often pressurised, customer interface.  Yet, what better way is there to lead by example than by working alongside team members – contributing to the task and building relationships at a team and individual level?

One of the best ways of setting an example in terms of completing the task, is ‘the grand gesture’.  This is where the leader undertakes a particular task, often menial in nature, that was not to be expected by his team members.  For example, managers who roll up their sleeves and wash up pots and pans, or man the reception area during staff shortages will certainly be noticed and respected by their staff.

Setting an example by one’s personal behaviour can also have a very powerful effect at a team and individual level.  Punctuality, inter-personal relationships, reflecting the culture of the organisation in terms of its values, beliefs and attitudes will all be noticed by one’s staff.  If the leader is customer driven, enthusiastic, positive, prepared to change, prepared to admit his own mistakes, that is the example his staff will follow.  The challenge for a team leader is to ensure that the example he sets contributes positively to the task, the team and the individual. 

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