In-Jean-ious
Leadership
HTM491: Leadership and Self Development in Hospitality
BLOG I
LEADERSHIP IN 3S
VALUES
accountability
Being able to own your actions and admit your mistakes is the first step to growth. It is also an essential step when troubleshooting and forming solutions.
communication
A team needs to be on the same page, whether it is about availability, discomfort, feedback, or anything at all. A good leader will set an example by being transparent and open-minded with their team members whenever the situation calls for it.
trust
It is when there is distrust between people that miscommunication, omission, lies, discomforts, and potentially resentment start to brew. Ultimately, a leader should feel like someone a team can fall back on. Additionally, a leader should be able to feel like they can fall back on their team.
QUOTES
MARK TWAIN
If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.
DR. SEUSS
Sometimes you never realize the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
CHUCK PALAHNIUK
Nothing of me is original. I am the combined efforts of everyone I've ever known.
This ties closely with my values. Honesty, even in the face of embarrassment or difficulty, usually paves an easier path for yourself and others in the future. It allows everyone the opportunity to accurately assess the situation at hand and move forward with the right solutions.
This serves as a reminder to never take small moments or luxuries for granted. Even the smallest gestures can mean a lot to others, and that is particularly important as a leader in the hospitality industry. Similarly, tasks you set to do ahead of time can potentially save you plenty of time or trouble in the future, and you will thank yourself later for thinking ahead.
This quote serves as a good reminder for myself to always be grateful to those around me. I am the culmination of many people’s efforts, regardless of whether or not they intended to. In the same vein, I am always changing and should continue to accept positive influence from others so that I can continue to grow better as a person and a leader.
A leader is someone who supports others to reach their potential, not to "lead" them to their own whims.
Every mind is unique. A good leader recognizes this as a strength and uses it to form creative solutions.
A good leader is open-minded to new ideas and feedback in pursuit of growth and self-development.
ARTICLES
Are you a leader or a manager?
This article makes a clear distinction between a manager (someone in a job position that involves the management of people/resources) and a leader (someone who motivates others at a personal level). You don’t have to be a manager to become a great leader. You still have a great influence over your team without a managerial role.
Customer Service Reps Work Best When They Work Together, But Only 12% of Companies Let Them
Studies have shown that customer service reps perform better in an environment where they can freely interact with and learn from their peers and superiors. Learning from others that came before you is the best way to consolidate information, especially when the work is variable and complex.
There are 4 types of motivation–here’s what each does to your brain
The four types of motivators are: Creative Expression, Financial Incentive, Curiosity/Learning, and Fear. Each type triggers different portions of the brain and manifests different kinds of results. It is important to know which motivator works for you so that you can find the right incentives to bring your work efficiency and quality up. Fear as a motivator delivers prompt results, but may be lacking in quality. It also suppresses a person’s interest to learn more about the subject.
FAMOUS LEADERS
RAY KROC
Founder of McDonald's
Optimism and Ambition
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY
President of Ukraine
Sincerity and Integrity
BILL BELICHICK
New England Patriots Coach
Teamwork and Commitment
MOVIE EXAMPLES
T'Challa
Black Panther
Open-Mindedness and Leading by Example
LEE ABBOTT
A Quiet Place
Love and Empathy
Steve Rogers
Captain America
Loyalty and Responsibility
BLOG II
Leadership & Me
My name is Jean Christie Go
Leadership to me is not a job title; it is a practice.
I think one of the most misleading aspects of leadership is the “leading” part. Many interpret this as a position of power, where a leader can order or demand others to do their bidding and be respected all the same. When we think of leaders, we think of CEOs and managerial positions.
On the contrary, I believe leaders can be anybody, regardless of job or title. A leader is someone who can inspire others to become better versions of themselves. Someone who can form a vision of a better future and help others see the same and achieve it. In the case that situations do not go as planned, they are also someone who keeps accountable for their actions and the actions of those in their care. However, a leader is not a leader if they cannot work and grow together with their team. A leader is someone who is open-minded, flexible, and empathetic to others’ thoughts, needs, and feedback.
Overall, a leader’s influence should be an encouraging force on the team. They are someone who can inspire others to achieve new heights. When obstacles appear on their team’s path, they are someone who can take accountability, formulate a solution, and learn from the experience. Leaders are ever-growing and they approach learning with humility. That is who a leader is to me.
BLOG III
TRAIT-BASED LEADERSHIP THEORY
What is it?
It is the concept that leaders are born, not made. They come into this world with a particular set of skills that makes them destined to be leaders.
PROS
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It is easier to measure leadership competence with traits, since they are a straightforward and easy-to-understand metric.
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It is a very pleasing and hopeful theory that someone out there is born to make a difference.
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If one truly believes that they were born to be a leader, they will have a stronger drive to become one.
CONS
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It is very leader-centric and does not take into account their interaction with followers.
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It does not take into account that leadership is a mix of traits and action. Just because someone has all the traits of a good leader does not mean that they are a good leader automatically.
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It implies that people who are not born leaders are never going to be leaders. It can be discouraging to those aspiring and struggling to become one.
5 Important Traits for Leaders
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Respectful - Respect comes a long way. While a leader usually has to earn respect from his followers, leaders have to be respectful from the start. It is in part leading by example and at the same time common sense - how do you expect to be respected if you do not respect the people around you?
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Driven - A leader's role is to provide direction. It is difficult for a leader to inspire others and help them grow to their potential if they do not have visions for a better future and the drive to reach that goal.
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Accountable - A good leader should be able to take accountability for their own actions and their team's actions. The first step towards improvement is acknowledging progress, and that goes for both positive and negative outcomes.
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Grateful - While a good leader may have plenty of achievements in their lifetime, it is important that they are able to pause and be thankful for their team and whatever circumstances have led them to where they are now. They do not take their blessings for granted.
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Self-Aware - Personal growth is essential to good leadership and that cannot be achieved without self-awareness. A leader who is able to accurately introspect and analyze themselves will be able to continuously improve on their attitude and their practices.
Good to Great
(Ch. 3 & 4)
These chapters discuss choosing the "who" before the "what" when it comes to building organizations. It is a concept rooted in the idea that you will first need the right people on your team before you can move in the right direction. This ties into trait-based leadership because it assumes that people who generally have good traits will naturally make a powerful team.
This has not always been true in my personal experiences, however. This argument assumes that any great individual will be able to work with other great individuals, which is not always representative of human nature. I feel this is easily represented multiple times throughout our lives with the people around us. For example, both my parents are very intelligent and gifted individuals. My father is proficient in multiple trades, owned several types of businesses, and even worked as a professor at a prestigious university in the Philippines. My mother, although graduated at the top of her class in college and completed a degree in accounting, she is most known for her empathy, integrity, respectfulness, and accountability. They would be excellent additions to any team. However, outside of their traits and skills, their personalities are completely opposite from one another. From their general views on life to their work ethic and style, there seems to be nothing they can agree on. While they are individually amazing people, they do not work well with one another as a team. Following that train of thought, the same can apply to any skilled individual in a team.
While I understand the intention behind the author's argument, I believe it is just as important to first have a general understanding of the desired direction (the "what") so that you are able to choose the right kind of people for the job.
BLOG IV
BEHAVIOR-BASED LEADERSHIP THEORY
THEORY REVIEW
Leadership in TV Series
Finding behavior-based leadership examples from the anime series:
Hunter x Hunter
High People / Low Task
High People / High Task
Low People / Low Task
Low People / High Task
High People
Despite being a child, Gon seems to have the strangest ability to make everyone his friend. His friend group consists of people his age, former enemies, and powerful leaders. Many are pulled in by his simplistic outlook on life, positivity, strength, and cleverness.
Low Task
Gon sets his own goals and people just go along with him. He does not really try to convince people to follow him nor does he really give instruction to those around him. Sometimes his reasoning to go on certain missions are completely selfish and irrational. Yet, people still follow him.
High People
Although not explicitly shown in the series, it is implied through several Troupe member interactions that the group is very close with one another. While they respect each other’s skill and power, they seem attuned with each other’s tics and personalities. Considering that Lucilfer was the founder of this group, it is only natural to assume that he plays a vital role in fostering this close-bonded culture.
High Task
The Phantom Troupe is an infamous band of criminals, conducting a wide range of missions from thievery to mass genocide. Their missions can be a mix of absolute chaos to organized kills, which is all ultimately decided by Lucilfer. He conducts group meetings and ensures that everyone is on the same page about their objectives.
Low People
When something or someone dissatisfies Meruem, he is quick to resort to murder or destruction. He was born into his role as king and he is undeniably the strongest of his race, so his servants’ loyalties mainly stem from a hierarchical duty rather than personal relationship.
Low Task
Most of the work to further the Chimera Ant cause were executed by the royal guards and squadron leaders. Throughout the series, we mainly see Meruem pondering his existence and playing Go with a human girl named Komugi.
Low People
The Zoldyck family is a family of renowned assassins. We see throughout the Zoldyck arc that each family member is either competing for acknowledgement or fearing one another. Their bond is not built by relationship, but instead by power.
High Task
When your family consists of world-class assassins, it is only natural that the person that sits at the top of the hierarchy is the strongest and is able to pull the reins on any unruly family member - that is Silva Zoldyck. He keeps the family intact through his authoritarian leadership style and no one would dare defy his word.
BLOG V
CONTINGENCY LEADERSHIP THEORY
The Blanchard Model
The Blanchard Model is a contingency leadership theory model that evaluates the effectiveness of four different leadership styles based on relationship-oriented and task-oriented behavior levels from the leader. What distinguishes this from a similar behavior-based leadership theory model is that the Blanchard model considers a third dimension - the followers' performance readiness. It essentially accounts for how well-received each leadership style will be by the leader's followers.
Blanchard in Action
I remember the time I interned at the Japanese Friendship Garden as an Assistant Program Coordinator. It was my first time in an office environment, let alone a coordination role in general. I had low competence and high commitment, which would correspond with R1 on the follower performance readiness scale. According to the Blanchard Model, the most effective leadership style would have been Telling (S1), which involves high task behavior and less focus on relatinship-building. However, my manager was incredibly low task and high relationship, which corresponds with a Participating style (S3) - the exact opposite style.
This mismatch led to an incredibly frustrating and confusing learning period where my manager would consistently address me as if I were his peer both in a personal and work competency context. Instead of telling me what to do and training me on how to do it, he would ask me how I would like to assist him with his duties on a daily basis and fail to explain to me what any of those duties entail. It was incredibly ineffective and time-consuming on both our ends.
PAUSE
Let's take a moment to acknowledge an outstanding blog!
Desire To Inspire
By Desiree Meyette
Professional Excellence: Is This Really Just A School Blog!?
I can hardly believe it! Everything about Desiree's blog just screams professionalism. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it is also organized in a way that is neat and intuitive! It even has moving elements, creating a scrolling experience that is as smooth as can be; and once you get started on reading her actual posts, the insight and inspiration simply won't stop flowing. Perhaps you could attribute it to the fact that Desiree does actually have extensive experience in professional work environments. Well, it certainly shows! Amazing work, Desiree!
Introducing...
BLOG VI
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Hideaki Hatta & Yoko Hatta
(left)
(right)
Founders and Presidents of
Kyoto Animations (KyoAni) is a japanese animation studio founded by a Japanese couple - Hideaki and Yoko Hatta - in 1985.
Since then, KyoAni has made an undeniable impact on the anime community. The studio is responsible for the heartwrenching anime classic, Clannad, as well as some comedy classics such as K-ON and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. On top of quality storytelling, the studio has taken it even further with series such as Violet Evergarden and A Silent Voice, showing anime lovers that a movie can be just as heartwrenchingly emotional as it is breathtakingly beautiful.
Most of all, KyoAni is hailed for its spectacular leadership and work culture, which is incredibly rare among Japanese animation studios.
TECHNOLOGY IN HOSPITALITY
robot staff
A few hotels have added robots into their workforce. While robot concierges have gained most of the media's attention, some hotels are also utilizing room attendant, server, and bellman robots. They generally assist with lightening workloads by automating certain tasks. They also do not need to rest or get paid, so they can be cost-efficient as well.
I believe the industry is having a harder time with wider scopes of implementation due to the cost of setup and maintenance of the robots and the risk of losing the "human" aspect of guest services.
However, I still believe that they have a lot of potential. As technology continues to improve, younger generations are more open to contactless or faster service. Especially with recent years' growth with AI systems as well, I would not be surprised if robotics will become more easily accessible to businesses and the general public.
ar/vr simulations
Augmented Reality (AR) is the integration of virtual elements into the physical world, usually through phones or special see-through goggles. Virtual Reality (VR) is a fully virtual space created and utilized through VR headsets. Both are slowly integrating into both guest-facing and back-of-house operations within hospitality.
A well-known example of AR integration is in Universal Studio's new ride (as of this blog), Bowser's Challenge, where guests are strapped into a ride with special goggles that allow them to essentially play real-life Mario Kart with people around them. Fully VR events are slowly coming to life as well, although they are more restricted to business events and uses at this time. It is most commonly used for training purposes, where new agents are trained how to handle various guest/customer service scenarios through VR simulation.
I believe AR/VR has a lot of potential, especially when more people are starting to favor remote work and virtual events. This could open a whole realm of creativity for events, especially when attendants are no longer restricted to physical assets. Once the barrier to entry (cost and training) when it comes to AR/VR technology becomes more easily accessible to the general public, I'm sure it will skyrocket in popularity.
AI Implementation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has progressed by leaps and bounds in recent years. With the appearance of DALL-E in 2021 (picture generation) and ChatGPT in 2022 (text generation and conversation), the world is beginning to see the true capabilities and power of AI.
In the world of hospitality, because of its ability to absorb, analyze, and make decisions based on large volumes of data instantaneously, AI has been incredibly helpful in optimizing revenue, scheduling, and other internal operations. With recent advancements, AI is able to take a step outside of the shadows and interact directly with guests to provide professional and personalized services. While it may remove the "human" aspect of guest services, it will be faster, more convenient, more consistent, and more accurate (assuming it is using up-to-date data).
Unlike the other aforementioned technological advances, AI is a lot easier to access and understand for the general public. I believe within the next year, AI will have grown even more in power and presence in the hospitality industry.
BLOG VII
CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP THEORY
COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL MANAGEMENT
BLOG VIII
The Final Blog: A Fond Farewell
Final Takeaways
Working through this blog, I have learned that there are many ways to interpret good leadership. I have learned much about the different theories – from the original Great Man Theory to some of the more recent Contemporary Leadership Theories – and I know I have only scratched the surface. Each theory is unique in its own perspective but shares many similarities with other theories, namely common expected leadership behaviors such as self-awareness, humility, empathy, and more. Learning these perspectives have allowed me to reflect upon my past and current experiences with leaders (as well as myself in leadership positions) with a newfound lens.
Lesson Implementation
The leadership theory that resonated with me most was Situational Leadership Theory with the Blanchard Model. I liked how it painted leadership styles and behaviors as a flow depending on both the situation and the people under their guidance. This means that this model can be used to represent the leadership approach at the birth of a new team as well as the evolution of that approach as the team changes and grows. This is a fresh perspective to take on leadership for me and, as a person who has a tendency to overthink the smaller details, I love how thorough the model is through every stage.
I believe this theory will be able to assist me in future leadership roles. Based on Situational Leadership Theory, I notice that I tend to gravitate towards a “Supporting” leadership style, even when my team requires some directive (since I am too afraid to “bark orders” at others despite direction being part of my responsibility). The model tells me that while my natural leadership style is not “wrong,” it is best suited for a specific kind of team. Analyzing other quadrants of the model will advise me on how to adjust my current leadership style to fit the kind of team I am working with. This way, I will no longer be at a loss for what to do when I am on the spot in a leadership role.