INSPIRATIONAL TEAM LEADERSHIP UNDERGRADUATE TWO-DAY
TRAINING COURSE 

"Alan Cutler, from Hospitality Leadership, presented a very professionally prepared and delivered session to the third year BA International Hotel Management students at theThames Valley University, Ealing. The subject matter was very relevant to both their studies and their personal needs and was very well received by them. Indeed, they enjoyed the session so much that they asked Alan to return to the university at a later date to develop the theme of hospitality leadership further!" 

Mia Touzin, Research Manager,
Centre for Vocational Excellence, TVU

Who is the Training Designed For

Undergraduates who are undertaking a degree in hospitality, leisure, tourism or travel studies – in advance of either their graduation or an industrial placement period.  

Course Overview

Building upon the findings of the first primary market research project of its kind, The Hospitality Leadership Excellence Survey, this is a unique development course focusing entirely on the leadership qualities required of the UK hospitality industry. It takes as its core model, Action Centred Leadership (ACL), created by the UK's foremost leadership guru, John Adair, which is represented by three, overlapping circles that denote a leader's main responsibilities:

» achieving the task

» building and maintaining the team

» developing the individual

The 16-hour programme encourages undergraduates to consider how the principles of ACL can be applied to great effect within a hospitality environment. However, it is not only relevant to the challenges faced by a junior leader employed within our industry it is also:

» Practical - focusing on the actions required by a hospitality team leader.  

» Participative - encouraging learning by doing and reviewing. Every undergraduate will have at least one opportunity to lead a team through an exercise, one opportunity to formally observe the leadership of an exercise, and a number of opportunities to experience and review the leadership of other trainees.

» Varied - The course content below identifies the range of training methods are used, including presentations, discussions (pairs, group and plenary), team and leadership exercises and personal reflection.

» Action-oriented - undergraduates are required to draw up a plan of specific actions, based on their learning during the course, and to commit themselves to applying them when they take up their first junior management appointment.

» Challenging - trainees will be encouraged to face up to the demands of leadership roles they are likely to face within the hospitality industry.

» Enjoyable - people learn best when they are enjoying themselves, and they will on this course!

The course can be delivered by either an industry-experienced Hospitality Leadership Ltd trainer, who is accredited by Adair International, or a university lecturer licensed by Hospitality Leadership to do so.  It can be held over two days, consecutively or within a short period of time, or, exceptionally, over four half-days, to suit the institution's timetabling requirements.

Certification

Certificates, and two credits at QCF Level Three, will be awarded for successful completion of an Assessment of Learning - a 45 minute examination accredited and marked by The Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality, in which students identify what leadership actions they would take according to a given case study, using the principles of ACL as the basis of their answer. It can be taken as an extension to the last day of the course, or at a later time, according to the wishes of the institution.

Course Outcomes

At the end of the course, undergraduates will be able to:

» Understand what is meant by leadership and the role of a team leader within a hospitality environment  

» Understand and apply the principles of ACL within a hospitality workplace

» Draw up a plan of action to develop their leadership skills according to the principles of ACL

Benefits for Organisations

Organisations that subsequently employ the undergraduates will benefit from junior managers who already understand and apply effective leadership skills and:

• Lead more highly motivated teams
• Have higher levels of transferable leadership skills
• Have the foundation of leadership skills upon which they can develop into operational leaders
• Whose teams provide improved standards of service to external and internal customers
• Whose teams contribute positively to their organisation's image and competitiveness
• Whose teams enjoy lower levels of staff turnover

Benefits for Higher Education Institutions

• Their undergraduates will have enhanced industry-specific leadership skills in preparation for their first junior management appointment
• Their undergraduates will perform to a higher level, with less initial difficulties, in their first job role – of particular benefit if the training is undertaken in advance of their industrial placement period
• Students passing the examination will be awarded two credits at Level Three of the QCF
• Employers may more readily accept students for industrial placements
• The institution will be recognised as providing industry-specific leadership development, in addition to the range of managerial skills normally associates with a degree programme

Course Overview

Session 1

• Introductions
• Course aims and objectives
• Personal action sheets and individual aims and objectives
• Completion of Motivation Questionnaire
• Guide to practical exercises
• Team Exercise
• Presentation - Management and Leadership

Session 2

• Leadership Exercise 1
• Group discussion - What makes a great leader?
• Presentation - The Three Approaches to Leadership: qualities, situational and functional

Session 3

• Leadership Exercise 2
• Presentation - Action Centred Leadership - The three circles of Task, Team and Individual
• Group Discussion - The 21st Century Leader

Session 4

• Leadership Exercise 3
• Group Discussion - How can a team leader motivate people at work?
• Presentation - Adair's Eight Points on Motivation
• Leadership Exercise 4
• Consolidation of Day 1's learning, including leadership lessons from practical exercises
• Evening - Read paper on ‘Effective Leadership’ by Alan Cutler

Session 5

• Presentation - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• Leadership Exercise 5
• Presentation - Leadership Functions

Session 6

• Presentation -  Hertzberg's Hygiene & Motivation Factors
• Leadership Exercise 6
• Presentation -  The Role of a Leader
• Presentation - Pulling together our learning on leadership 

Session 7 

• Leadership Exercise 7
• Presentation – Effective decision-making 
• Group Discussion - Delegation and empowerment

Session 8

• Group Exercise - An ACL Leadership Scenario
• Presentations of ACL Scenario
• Personal action planning
• Course evaluation

Summary

In summary, The Undergraduate Team Leadership Training Course, designed and delivered by Hospitality Leadership, is a sector-specific development programme for hospitality management degree students. Run over 16 hours in eight session it uses as its foundation John Adair's Action Centred Leadership model and includes an opportunity for each undergraduate to practice and develop his or her personal leadership skills, leading up to the completion of a personal leadership action plan to prepare them for their first junior leadership position in the hospitality industry. Two credits at Level Three of the QCF will be awarded for successful completion of the examination

Return to Leadership Development main page